Students at Clear Lake Elementary have been drinking bottled water since Monday, Oct. 15 after routine testing indicated the presence of coliform bacteria in the school’s independent water system.
‘We’ve covered over the drinking fountains,? said Principal Sue Hannant. ‘It’s safe for washing hands and flushing toilets, but they brought bottled water in for the classroom and for the kitchen.?
‘The earliest we’d be ready to let the kids drink the water again would be (late) Wednesday morning,? according to Bruce Biebuyck, head of the school district’s maintenance department.
Four times a year the school’s water system, which is independently supplied by its own underground well, is tested by AquaTest Laboratories, Inc. in White Lake.
A test on Friday, Oct. 12 indicated the presence of coliform bacteria, a commonly-used bacterial indicator of sanitary quality of foods and water.
Coliforms are abundant in the feces of warm-blooded animals, but can also be found in the aquatic environment, in soil and on vegetation.
In most instances, coliforms themselves are not the cause of sickness, but they are easy to culture and their presence is used to indicate that other fecal pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa or parasites, may be present.
‘The DEQ says if (coliform bacteria is) present, it’s an indicator that it could grow, so you’ve got to chlorinate,? Biebuyck said. ‘It’s a preventative kind of thing ? catch it before it really gets bad.?
Biebuyck was quick to note that nothing seriously harmful or deadly was found in the water samples. ‘All of the (test) samples that we’ve done so far were all negative for E. coli, which is the worst,? he noted.
So, where did the coliform bacteria come from?
‘Originally what we think happened . . .there was a gap in the top of the wellhead and some earwigs got in there,? Biebuyck said. ‘They got into the well casing and could have gotten down to the bottom of the well.?
It appears as though an electrical connection on the wellhead was damaged, leaving a gap.
‘We assume that’s how they crawled in,? said Biebuyck, noting it’s when the insects die and their bodies start decaying that coliform bacteria appears. ‘That’s what starts it.?
The wellhead’s electrical connection was replaced and a brand new o-ring was placed where the well cap sits to provide a stronger seal.
The school’s entire water system was chlorinated over the weekend of Oct. 13-14. Two rounds of sampling were done from Oct. 15-18, and both indicated the presence of coliforms.
‘We had clear samples through most of the building,? according to Biebuyck, who noted the bad sample was obtained from a little-used sink in a classroom that used to be a community kitchen.
‘Sometimes that happens ? you chlorinate and it just doesn’t get it all,? he explained. ‘We didn’t hit it hard enough or it didn’t get to all the piping, so we’ve got to do it again.?
Over the weekend (Oct. 20-21), school maintenance workers pulled the pump, flushed the well itself to ‘get any debris that might be down there? and chlorinated the water system again.
Tests were conducted again on Monday and Tuesday.
‘We have to stay on bottled water until we get two clear samples within a 24-hour period,? Biebuyck said. ‘Hopefully, if everything goes well, we’ll be back on-line with drinking water (late) Wednesday morning.?