RESTAURANT
RATINGS "The
following are the Montgomery County Health Department's food service
establishment inspection scores and the Department of Agriculture's retail
establishment scores. Food service establishments include schools, day cares and
restaurants. The highest possible score is 100. Food service establishments
are closed when immediate danger to public health is present and are reinspected
within 20 days if they have critical violations. ...Waffle House No. 399, Kraft
Street, 67, follow-up inspection required because of violations involving cross-connection, back siphonage
and/or backflow of plumbing." theleafchronicle.com, Jan. 24,
2005
Backflow assembly inspections program
returns "City staff
threw a bit of a scare into some citizens last summer with notices
about protecting public drinking water, backflow devices and potential
fines. And then they stopped, following complaints and questions about the
effectiveness of the program. It's back. The Venice Utilities
Department is telling 12,000 water customers they need these devices, and
have to get them checked every year and submit those results to the city.
The first 400 letters went out earlier this month. ...Public Information Officer
Pam Johnson said the city does not know which customers have these and
which do not... ..."I don't think anybody knows (who has them). That's why we're
asking all of them to be checked," Johnson said. "But even if they have
one, they're going to have to have them checked to make sure they're
functioning properly." ...Testing prices range from $30 to $50, Johnson
said. Because the backflow assembly is on the customer's side, the city
will not inspect or install the devices; all responsibility is with the
private citizen." Venice Gondolier Sun, Jan. 23,
2005
Lacey to continue chlorine - Council agrees to treat
water on permanent basis "The City
Council ended an era this week when it agreed to the permanent chlorination of
the city's water system, which serves about 50,000 customers inside and outside
the city limits. The decision means the city no longer will operate the
largest nondisinfected water system in the state, a source of pride for City
Hall and many of its customers, who enjoyed tap water free of chemical
disinfection. Customers also will see a boost in their water rates to pay for
the project. The council's decision was driven by the inability of operators to
rid the system of a generally harmless type of bacteria and skepticism by the
state that the city could solve the problem. ...City officials have been
struggling for more than a year to rid the system of coliform bacteria since
tests found an unacceptable number of contaminated samples in September 2003.
The bacteria are troublesome because they can indicate the presence of more
dangerous types of coliform, such as E. coli and fecal coliform, which can
sicken humans. In response, the city drained a large underground reservoir,
disinfected wells, flushed water pipes and investigated possible unlawful
connections to avoid an order by state regulators to permanently chlorinate. It
temporarily chlorinated a large portion of the system from May to September and
again starting in October." The Olympian, Jan. 22,
2005
Bribery probe in Ohio cites another ex-Brown aide
- Former Building Services chief is second Houston official
charged "The former
director of Houston's Building Services Department, who resigned under a cloud
in 2003, received a lavish Super Bowl weekend trip and other favors in exchange
for her influence on a city of Houston subcontract, according to a federal
indictment unsealed Tuesday in Ohio. Monique McGilbra, 41, is the second
high official in former Mayor Lee Brown's administration to be indicted in the
investigation. Oliver Spellman pleaded guilty in December to accepting $2,000 in
2002 to try to influence city contracts while he served as Brown's chief of
staff and is now cooperating with federal authorities. FBI agents took McGilbra
into custody Tuesday evening when she arrived at Bush Intercontinental Airport
from an out-of-town trip. She was taken to FBI headquarters for processing and
then was to be taken to the Federal Detention Center downtown, FBI spokesman Bob
Doguim said." Houston Chronicle, Jan. 19,
2005
Water Contamination in Boise
Neighborhood "There's a
warning out for residents of one neighborhood just south of Boise to
not drink or use their water. The Department of Environmental
Quality confirms the water is contaminated with a compound used to
remove grease from metal parts. ..."I don't want to get overly paranoid,
but it doesn't sound good that's for sure, especially when it says to
minimize bathing and showers because of the vapors," said Terra Grande
resident Rumana Zahn. Zahn said people in her neighborhood have questioned
the water quality in the past and she wonders, "Who knows how long we've
been drinking it? How long has it been contaminated--because no one's
really said how long it's been that way. So that's very unnerving.""
KBCI Idaho2news, Jan.21, 2005
Brandon residents face illegal
drip "It is now
illegal for municipal water users in Brandon to let tapwater run to prevent
pipes from freezing. A set of by-laws to that effect proposed by the Fire
District's policy board, the Prudential Committee, passed unanimously at
the annual meeting Jan. 10. ...Ray Counter, the water superintendent, said the
by-law changes were not aimed at homeowners who occasionally keep water
running on especially cold nights. Rather, there have been a few cases
where water users have let large amounts of water pass through their
system, probably from failure to make necessary repairs, he said. ...The Fire
District is continuing to work on a plan to address the future needs of the
water system such as infrastructure replacement, watershed protection, rate
structure, security and cross-connection programs." Rutland Herald, Jan. 18,
2005
Foul drinking water aboard
airliners worsens "Drinking water
aboard the nation's airliners is getting worse, not better, despite
government-ordered sanitation improvements, the Environmental Protection
Agency said Wednesday. About one in six airliners in the latest round
of tests conducted in November and December had drinking water that failed
to meet federal safety standards, EPA said. Similar tests in August and
September showed the water in one in eight aircraft testing positive
for coliform bacteria. The latest round of testing produced positive
results for presence of the bacteria in 29 of 169 randomly selected
passenger aircraft carrying domestic and international passengers. The
tests were done on water from galley water taps and lavatory faucets on planes
at 14 airports throughout the United States. ...EPA advised passengers with
compromised immune systems or others concerned to ask for canned or
bottled beverages and refrain from drinking tea or coffee unless made with
bottled water." post-gazette.com, Jan. 20,
2005
In Our View: Safe water "Most of us never even give it a second thought. We
turn on the tap, and water runs out clean and plentiful. Our attitude isn't
necessarily based on complacency, but more on confidence because barring
infrequent mechanical or structural disruptions, safe and potable water is a
constant in our lives. Until recently, the chance that our water supply could be
significantly disrupted or contaminated was minimal at best. And to a great
extent there's little reason to fear some disgruntled or disturbed person will
take our water away from us. Still, it would be foolish not to consider the
prospect and not to take precautionary measures to protect our water supplies
and delivery systems from terroristic acts." Texarkana Gazette, Dec. 29,
2004
Ripon parks switching to non-potable
water "Two of
Ripon's biggest parks will soon utilize nitrate-rich well water that is no
longer suitable for domestic use. Not only will switching to the
nitrate-rich water for irrigation help take pressure of the municipal water
supply that is substantially more expensive due to the treatment process, but it
will also help provide for healthier turf. Grass -- and other landscaping
-- thrive better when nitrates are applied. ...Ever since bringing the
non-potable water system on-line more than a year ago, Ripon has been able
to turn preserve their existing water supply -- preserving precious ground water
that the community still relies on to serve their customers. Several
existing wells in various rural locations are currently only in use to provide
water for the non-potable system -- after it was discovered that their
high nitrate levels were unsafe for normal consumption." Manteca Bulletin,
Jan. 17, 2004
OEPA backs South Bass water
system "The Ohio
Environmental Protection Agency Thursday encouraged officials from South Bass
Island and Ottawa County to proceed with a $5.26 million plan to expand
the Put-in-Bay Water Treatment Facility. ..."This is something we want to see
them do," Pierce said. "Given their situation last summer, it's a priority
project for us." Ottawa County Health Commissioner Nancy Osborn said health
officials believe 1,450 people contracted gastrointestinal illness last
summer after drinking water on South Bass Island that contained "widespread
groundwater contamination." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
still has not released the official cause of the contamination. However, as
a precautionary measure, the OEPA ordered 11 businesses on the island to
close their wells during the epidemic after analyses of water drawn from
the wells showed traces of E. coli." Port Clinton News Herald.com, Jan. 14,
2005
Reuse Water the Other Side of the Water Saving
Story "In
Victoria... the State’s Environmental Protection Authority and
water companies are promoting the development of water
reuse schemes.
Concerns have been raised
that, as developments occur, the community and the building industry may not have adequate knowledge
of the dangers associated
with reuse systems, given that incidents permitting the contamination of potable supplies through
cross connections have
occurred both here and overseas. ...as these examples show, there is still a lack of awareness as to the health
risksthese systems pose and any
plumbing regulations applicable." Ecolibrium, July
2003
Water torture must
end "Question: I live in the fifth-floor unit of a downtown
condo. I can hear the sound of running water in my washroom, which I'm sure is
the case with most condos and apartments. What is unusual is the sound occurs
exactly ever four minutes, with a duration of four seconds. My guess is it is
coming from the unit above mine and they must have some device or appliance that
turns on their water every four minutes. Is there anything that can be done to
remedy this annoying problem?
Ans: We sent this question to
engineer Gina Cody, a principal at Construction Control
Inc.
It is difficult to visualize a water-related defect that
would create a noise with the degree of uniformity in duration, frequency and
consistency that you have described. Here's a partial list of the potential sources of running
water sound in the plumbing stack shared by your
unit:
Leaky pressure relief valve
from equipment such as boilers or storage tanks discharging water into a floor
drain.
Leaky vacuum breaker on make-up water lines
discharging water into a floor
drain.
Leaky
automatic trap primer discharging water into the P-trap of a floor
drain.
If the visual
inspection does not reveal any unusual noise source, then a detailed
investigation of the plumbing system in your unit should be carried out by an
experienced mechanical/plumbing (inspector)." Toronto Star, Jan. 15,
2005
City aims to curb back-flow
pollution "People
usually think about water leaving a water line to enter a home or business, not
the other way around. That’s not always the case. Sometimes conditions allow
polluted water to enter a line used for drinking water, said Leigh Ross, Rome’s
Water and Sewer Department director. That possibility has prompted the city to
require businesses, industries and residences to install back-flow preventers to
ensure contaminated water never mixes with drinking water. The requirement is
mandated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, though no specific
deadline for completion is set. “Sometimes pipelines in an industry can be
so complex that over the years and decades mistakes are made, and the water
system is tied up with the process system,” Ross said, giving an example. "
Rome News-Tribune, Jan. 3, 2005
The Plumber as a Health
Expert
"...the plumber was the original health
officer and the foundations of preventative medicine and public health
were founded upon the activities of the engineer and the plumber in the very
beginning. So that basically the things we take for granted in public health are
those things that the engineer and the plumber are responsible for. ...From
somewhat modest beginnings plumbing and sanitary engineering has become a
full-fledged science, with a safeguard to health. It has been asked why a
plumbing code? ...It is sufficient to say briefly that plumbing regulations are
necessary to prevent polluted water... for serious epidemics have been traced to
defective plumbing. ...I could relate to you many stories of plumbing work found
to have been illegally installed of such a nature as to be dangerous not only to
health but also to life and limb ...in fact, a whole chamber of horrors could be
filled from the experience of any plumbing inspector of a large city. ...More
than in any other trade has the master plumber had his eye upon health, and it
was this attitude that naturally moved him to associate with health departments.
These latter, also recognizing the importance of the plumber in any scheme to
improve the dwellings of the people, have nearly always appointed plumbing
inspectors as among the first of such officials, and indeed in many instances in
small towns the plumbing inspector was the sole officialof the health boards,
and his efficient work in this respect has become a tradition in Public Health
history." ASSE Yearbook, 1926
Smithfield panel learns of EPA rule
violation "Smithfield Council members learned Monday the village is
in violation of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Division of Drinking
and Ground Waters rules for its public water system. Mayor Ralph Ford read
a letter from OEPA officials about the village public water system, stating the
system is in violation in six areas and local officials had failed to
responded to the OEPA's Sept. 9 notice to respond in writing by Oct.
31. The letter written Dec. 20 was received by the board of public affairs
and turned over to council. Areas in violation
include:
€
Ratifying a backflow ordinance.
€
Identifying users required to have backflow prevention
devices.
€
Installing required backflow prevention devices.
€ Yearly
inspection of backflow prevention devices
installed.
€
Physically disconnecting old wells on state Route 152 from the distribution
system.
€
Replacement of the double check valve at the waste water treatment
plant.
Council turned
the letter back over to the water board, which must respond to the violations by
Jan. 20, the required 30 days." Herald Star Connect, Jan. 13,
2005
Agreement Reached Lawsuit Considered A Waste Of
Time "With a tentative agreement reached between
the county and the New York State Commission of Correction to end litigation
proceedings, the Legislature's Presiding Officer Joseph Caracappa (R-Selden)
says the county is in the same position it was six months ago... ...Caracappa
said, adding, "Nothing was accomplished." The lawsuit was filed in July by the
county executive after the county's dormitories were closed by the state due to
a backflow of water last March. Calling the state's decision "arbitrary and
capricious," and citing that Suffolk should be reimbursed for expenses to ship
the 140 displaced prisoners out of county, Levy filed litigation, in hopes of
regaining approximately $7 million." Suffolk Life, Jan. 12,
2005