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Show City officials solving water problems In recent weeks the City has detected abnormally high coliform bacteria in the city water supply. The city began chlorinating its water supply on both the 10 inch and 16 inch water mains from both well and spring sources south of town. The City is producing less than one million gallons of water a day and added approximately six pounds of chlorine to the system per day. Since chlorination began around ar-ound September 1, samples have been gathered from the distribution system and within the city. These samples have been tested by the State Health Division who confirmed that these samples were safe. Under the recently enacted Safe Drinking Water Act and the Interim Primary Drinking Water Regulations, it is the City's responsibility to notify the public and water customers whenever drinking water quality does not meet the absolute requirements of bacteriological analysis required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The City has not chlorinated its culinary water supply for the past four years and since the chlorination equipment has been reactivated the quality of the water within the system has been tested and meets the state requirements. This chlorination will continue until such time as the city determines the cause of the contamination at the well and spring sources. Recent samples of the well and spring sources have indicated an unusually high bacteria count. Three of the springs and one of the wells have tested high, whereas one well has tested satisfactory. The City will continue to gather samples from these sources and throughout the distribution system on a weekly basis until the situation is corrected, according to City Administrator Dave Bretzke. City officials are working closely with the State Health Division and the Environmental Protection Agency. The exact cause is somewhat perplexing to all parties concerned, he stated. |