USA TODAY Article by Kyle Bagenstose:

Dead snakes and mice, toxic sludge: How pathogens go unnoticed in America’s water towers

Many water towers have been left to fester, sometimes making people sick. The federal EPA has been looking into uniform regulations for years.



An article in USA TODAY by Kyle Bagenstose, Published 4:00 AM CDT May. 21, 2021 Updated 2:45 PM CDT Jun. 1, 2021

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2021/05/21/infrastructure-neglect-water-towers-add-millions-illnesses/6769259002/

In March of last year, residents in the small coastal community of Delray Beach, Florida, noticed something strange about the water coming from their taps.

It was discolored. Smelly. Flecked with bits of dirt.

“You looked at it, and it wasn’t clean,” resident Reeve Bright said. “You started seeing the ice coming out of the ice maker, and you’re going, ‘What the heck is going on? There is stuff in the frozen water.’”

Complaints to the city prompted the discovery of sediment that had accumulated inside one of the city’s massive water storage tanks. The sediment had traveled along with the water into cups, cookware, ice trays, and bathtubs.

It wasn’t a freak occurrence or the result of some unavoidable problem. An investigation found no records that the tank had ever been cleaned since it was built.

In 1972.

Water storage tanks, especially those sitting atop towers emblazoned with logos, serve as the most visible symbol of an amenity most Americans take for granted – clean water for drinking, cooking, and bathing.

Read Full Story Here: https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2021/05/21/infrastructure-neglect-water-towers-add-millions-illnesses/6769259002/

Naegeria fowleri outbreak Lake Jackson, Texas

Lake Jackson shut off its supply from Brazosport Water Authority, which accounted for half its water source. … Lake Jackson’s water crisis began with the discovery of Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba that typically affects people when contaminated water enters their body through their nose, according to the CDC.Sep 30, 2020

TCEQ Report: City of Lake Jackson, Texas, Incident

The Boil Water Notice for Lake Jackson residents was lifted on Oct. 6. The water system was converted to free chlorine and extensively flushed throughout the distribution lines. Samples collected by the TCEQ and the City indicate that the water is safe to use for drinking and cooking. Residents are urged to continue precautions recommended by the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention below until concerns with the ameba have been resolved.

Top Ten Reasons to clean your Tank

Keeping your tanks clean will help keep your water system safe.  Are your tanks and towers on a cleaning schedule?  You should keep your water tanks and towers clean and healthy! Do not allow the dirt that builds upon the floor of your potable water storage tanks to be a safe habitat to grow Giardia, Legionella, or viruses like Norovirus. 

Heed help keeping your tanks clean see our contracting servive at www.tankdiver.us .

The  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list these as the top 10 Causes – Outbreaks in Public Water Systems*

• Giardia
• Legionella
• Norovirus
• Shigella
• Campylobacter
• Copper
• Salmonella
• Hepatitis A
• Cryptosporidium
• E. coli, excess fluoride (tie)

Check out our new video series on YouTube. Tap-Talk explores our water distribution systems as we take you along and let you see what we see as we inspect and clean municipal water storage tanks. Our cameras let you see what is inside, we never reveal the utility we are working for or our exact location unless our customer gives us permission. Episode #1 is posted below, less than six minutes, I explain what we do and how we do it, talk about my background, and what led me to start my company in 1997.

Episode Two:

There is a serious danger lurking in many water systems. Join me, along with microbiologists and a former EPA drinking water chief as they discuss the problem. If you like this video please give us a thumbs up and SHARE it! It is important that water utility managers understand the importance of keeping water storage tanks clean. PLEASE SHARE!