Ok this DOES NOT MAKE SENSE

[nadinbrzezinski]

we have the Weather channel people telling MSNBC that we have water quality issues up and down the coast... as in bacterial contamination and all that... but my city has not issued a boil water order.....

We were pounded by the storm by the way.

Folks common sense says (ok disaster training) either BOIL your water for 20 minutes, or buy bottled water for a week or so.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. I agree. Use your common sense..Do not wait for the "authorities" to tell you what to do.

[Cleita]

2. I boil and buy bottled as a matter of course because we have well water.

I also did so when I lived in LA and supposedly our water was treated, except those times, during rain storms when the sewers would overflow and drain into the reservoirs. So any water out of the tap gets treated by me first before it goes into my body. That goes for my food that I eat raw too. I wash it with anti-bacteria soap first. I believe it pays off too because I seldom get sick, like colds, flu or stomach ailments.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Well that makes sense

I have never had issues with water in San Diego, but our current mayor is AN IDIOT at times... he avoids these orders since well, shit, it gives the city a bad image.

Well Mayor... there are times you issue those orders as a matter of course.

[MineralMan]

4. I believe they're talking about surface water contamination.

It's not really about domestic water that passes through a treatment plant. That will be treated to deal with any increase in bacteria levels.

However, water in streams, on beaches, and even on streets is untreated, and may be more contaminated than usual, with both bacteria and pollutants. I believe that's what the Weather Channel is talking about.

[Motown_Johnny]

5. that was my impression also, that and wells that draw unprocessed water

would be the problem


as long as the city water systems did not lose pressure there should be no need to boil water


the OP sounds alarmist to me

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Well since I did the disaster shtick for ten years

what would I know?

Common sense precautions are just common sense too.

[Motown_Johnny]

7. I don't want to argue with you

if you feel safer boiling water then please do so



but city water systems are closed systems, if there was no break in the line then there should be no contamination

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Yes they are closed

and?

They were talking of actual contamination in water systems not wells.

They were NOT specific as to what cities were affected.

And San Diego has had ISSUES with water quality in the past over storms.

Again what would I know?

[MineralMan]

10. Yes, yes...I know. This is just some flooding in California. They

do have effective water treatment systems there. Nobody's scooping water out of a river, you know. It comes through the pipes.

Your experience, while interesting, seems a little irrelevant to this particular situation. The folks who deal with this stuff are on top of it, I assure you. California is not a third world country.

See ya.

[MineralMan]

9. Yeah. Well, if we lived in rural areas or in third world countries,

boiling water gathered from surface sources or wells would make sense. Most people in California, though, get their water through pipes that come from a water treatment plant. I figure the people running those facilities are making the necessary adjustments. If there was a need to boil water, it'd be on the news, I'm sure.

[Cleita]

12. Yes, thirty years ago you could rely on the news to

make community service announcements. But not any more it seems. It's better to trust in your own judgement and assume the worst before it really does become the worst.

[MineralMan]

16. The statement from the Weather Underground had to do with

surface runoff, not domestic water systems. I went and listened to it, just to make certain. Surface water is, indeed, contaminated. Actually, it almost always is after rainstorms. People should wash hands thoroughly after coming in contact with it. Runoff from hills, lawns, and almost anywhere will contain bacteria, pollutants, etc.

I don't know of any city in Southern California that gets drinking water from surface water. So, it's not really a risk to the water coming out of the faucet in your home. This is a case of someone misunderstanding what was said on the Weather Channel. They did say that water was contaminated in Southern California, in creeks and beaches, etc. Of course it is.

Water treatment systems may have to add a bit more chlorine to the water before distribution to kill any extra bacteria present. That's all. It's routine stuff, unless some extraordinary thing happened at your city's water treatment plant.

A misunderstanding.

[Little Star]

17. The OP does not sound at all alarmist to me.......

and actually never has. To each their own I guess.

[Obamanaut]

11. Perhaps they (the powers) think the people have seen enough disaster

coverage that they know to boil water.

Why wait until one is told, just do it.

And how does one know the bottled water didn't come out of some tap where the water is not necessarily safe?

In our area, when the water may be contaminated, the people with private wells are cautioned to boil water - and we've seen enough warnings over the years that we know it is a good idea. The people who are on city water, not so much, because they treat it.

[jwirr]

13. At least do it to be safe. If it turns out that it wasn't necessary it is better

to be safe. The runoff is the same as any flood waters.

[robdogbucky]

14. From Marin County.....

Marin County sewage spills may be sabotage
Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer

San Francisco Chronicle December 23, 2010

As much as a million gallons of sewage has poured into Marin County's Corte Madera Creek this week - including sludge from a pipe that ruptured Wednesday - following a series of mishaps that officials believe could be sabotage.

The raw sewage bubbled out of a badly clogged pipeline in Kentfield Friday. Then, about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, a large pipe apparently burst underneath a berm used by locals as a jogging trail next to the creek, about three-quarters of a mile west of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard...

..."It was a major pipe failure," said Richards, whose agency handles sewage for the Ross Valley, including Fairfax, San Anselmo, Kentfield, Greenbrae and San Quentin State Prison. "We don't know how much spilled or the exact cause until we dig it up and take a look at it, but our hunch is that the two are related."

..."It is not uncommon to find garbage and other debris stuffed down manholes, but usually its just small stuff," he said. "We have wheelbarrows full of debris. There is some malice involved in this. We just don't know who." The sanitary district notified the FBI in addition to the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services and California Department of Fish and Game.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/22/BA5S1GUFBO.DTL#ixzz18yFKxIPb


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/22/BA5S1GUFBO.DTL#ixzz18yEQKkCI

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. You know I will err on the side of we are having

infrastructure failures, period.

But if that was sabotage, good luck finding the culprits... the evidence did wash away... no pun.