FRAZIER PARK (Monday, March 15, 2010, noon)—Recently, in a time of extreme weather conditions and high winds, the Frazier Park Public Utility District got two "bad" samples from two different sites in the system, on two different sides of town. In an interview on Monday, FPPUD Manager Greg Keenberg explained the mandatory notice that was sent out to FPPUD customers.

"It was windy on the day the samples were taken and we believe the samples got contaminated. It is easy to get a contaminated sample," Keenberg said. "We followed all the precautionary measures prescribed by the California Department of Public Health, then the re-testing showed all samples were clear."

Keenberg said that the system was flushed and re-sampled, "We flushed the pipelines in the two areas by opening the fire hydrants to clean out anything that could be in the pipes; We had to check every tank site to be sure all the tank lids were tight and did a visual inspection of the wells," he explained.

Keenberg said that sending the following letter is also required by the state.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER
Este informe contiene información muy importante sobre su agua potable. Tradúzcalo o hable con alguien que lo entienda bien.
Tests Showed Coliform Bacteria in Frazier Park P.U.D.
Our water system recently violated a drinking water standard. Although this incident was not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened and what we did to correct this situation.

We routinely monitor for drinking water contaminants in the Frazier Park P.U.D Water System. On March 2, 2010, we collected a total of four (4) samples from the distribution system to test for the presence of coliform bacteria. Two (2) distribution samples showed the presence of total coliform bacteria. The standard is that no more than one (1) sample per month may show the presence of coliform bacteria.

What should I do?

You do not need to boil your water or take other corrective actions. However, if you have specific health concerns, consult your doctor.

People with severely compromised immune systems, infants, and some elderly may be at increased risk. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1 (800) 426-4791.

What does this mean?

This is not an emergency. If it had been, you would have been notified immediately. Coliform bacteria are generally not harmful themselves. Coliforms are bacteria which are naturally present in the environment and are used as an indicator that other, potentially-harmful, bacteria may be present. Coliforms were found in more samples than allowed and this was a warning of potential problems.

Usually, coliforms are a sign that there could be a problem with the system’s treatment or distribution system (pipes). Whenever coliform bacteria are detected in any sample, follow-up testing is done to see if other bacteria of greater concern, such as fecal coliform or E. coli, are present. None of the positive coliform samples showed the presence of fecal coliform bacteria or the bacterium E.coli.

What happened? What was done?

The cause of the contamination is currently unknown. We are inspecting all domestic water supply facilities that serve the affected area. After flushing the distribution system, we will be collecting additional samples to verify bacteriological quality of the water being supplied to our customers. For more information, please contact Greg Keenberg, Manager of Frazier Park P.U.D at (661) 245-3734 or the California Department of Public Health at (661) 335-7315.

Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.

This notice is being sent to you by Frazier Park P.U.D. in compliance with the California Domestic Water Quality and Monitoring Regulations as a means of keeping the public informed.

Dated: ________________________________
Greg Keenberg, Manager

This is part of the March 12, 2010 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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