Safe drinking water a goal of Utah agencies, cities

SALT LAKE CITY — Orders to boil water issued in two cities about a month apart this year highlighted an aspect of modern-day living most people take for granted — safe drinking water as close as the kitchen faucet.

Saratoga Springs City Manager Ken Leetham knows all too well the problems that can result when an contaminant makes its way into the system.

In mid-May, residents in two subdivisions suddenly fell ill, developing flu-like symptoms. City officials suspected a bacterium that is difficult to test for and subsequently issued a boiling water order.

"It was very inconvenient for residents, of course, for those who got sick and for people who lost time off work and time out of school," Leetham said.

Leetham said the incident did not last long, and the bacterium was quickly flushed from the system.

Because officials never pinpointed the source, the city installed a drip-chlorination system in all the wells that feed into its culinary system.

"It's something that we will have in place from now on," he said.

A month later, Oakley, Summit County, had to issue a similar order after its system was impacted by flooding of the Weber River. That order also was lifted relatively quickly, but the concern over contamination had city leaders asking for donations of bottled water.

In Saratoga Springs, Leetham said the incident stressed the importance of annual water quality reports that assure residents the water has been sampled and tested and breaks out the levels of up to 90 different contaminants. It also shows if there are violations and the likely cause or source of the contaminant.

"Those reports are very good reports and educational for residents," Leetham said. "Generally I think we do a really great job of identifying those types of problems. What this did underscore for me is the real need to be vigilant, that we keep our drinking water safe and separate from our outside water system."

Leetham believes the contamination could have been caused by a cross-connection, which is when water users physically connect to a drinking water system and introduce contaminants. It could be something as simple as putting a hose in a horse trough or cleaning out the toilet with a garden hose.

Ken Bousfield, director of the state Division of Drinking Water, said the agency has strict cross-connection rules it imposes on water delivery systems, such as requiring providers to document cross-connection sites.