Another benefit of having a pool!

[JimK]

How's the water situation going?

[Watermom]

They finally got all areas back in service but I don't know anybody who is using the water for cooking or drinking it. A couple of days after they told us that the water was now safe, they came out with a warning that pregnant women should not drink the water. So........ if it is not safe for pregnant women, how can anybody be safe in drinking it?? A lot of areas are still able to smell the tell-tale licorice smell in the water. One of the news station hired some water testing company out of the area to test for the chemical in samples and to also test for other things. They are supposed to report tomorrow night what they find out. Will be interested to hear. The governor says the area is still under a state of emergency and they continue to have many places where people can go and either be given cases of water for free or fill up containers with water. I don't know how long they will continue to do these things but I suspect it will be for awhile yet. There have been a lot of new cases of people going to the hospital this week after starting to use the 'safe' water. We are showering and washing with it and not seeing any evidence of problems but still using bottled water for drinking and cooking for the foreseeable future. (Even the head of the local health department says that his family is using bottled water for the time being for drinking and cooking.) Of course, the president of the water company appeared on the news and drank a glass of tap water to show everybody that it is safe. Most people are not yet willing to trust that.

All you see on TV are ads for lawyers these days. I think there are already in excess of 30 lawsuits filed. The company has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy but I don't know the specifics of what that does for them. I read in the news tonight that they have $3 million in liability insurance for pollution and another $2 million in general liability insurance. They say they have already spent $800,000 towards clean up.

It is still a big mess. It is hard to believe that though the leak happened nearly 2 weeks ago, that it is still not over. I hope it will be soon and this is not something that will continue to cause long-term problems for people. That is something that there is no way to know, however, as there just isn't much data on this chemical. Any report that comes out just has a lot of questions answered by, "data not available." I guess we are the guinea pigs.

Unbelievably, schools are still not back in session. They have been closed since end of day Jan. 9 which was a Thursday. Also, closed all the following week due to the water fiasco -- Jan. 13-17 and also closed Monday Jan. 20 due to ML King holiday. Then, closed again today and tomorrow due to snowstorm. This is crazy! Since school closed before Christmas break (last day was Dec. 19), over a month later, the kids have only been in school for 2.5 days. We are assuming they will return on Thursday. Bottled water is there for use. Sinks and fountains are off limits. Hand sanitizer is placed in restrooms. Automated phone calls are going out to let parents know that all meals served will be prepared with bottled water.

Life as we knew it (300,000 of us) has been turned upside down. Trust and taking things for granted has gone by the way side. Not sure if and when it will return.

[JimK]

Wow, what a disaster.

I hope despite the challenges y'all are doing ok.

[Watermom]

So, the headline on today's news says that there was another chemical mixed in with the MCHM. Something called strip PPH. And, it took them 12 days to let somebody know?!?!

"They didn't realize til yesterday."

Gee, thanks, guys. So............. what else are you not telling us?

Like I said in my post from yesterday, this is still a long ways from being over.

[JimK]

So, the headline on today's news says that there was another chemical mixed in with the MCHM. Something called strip PPH. And, it took them 12 days to let somebody know?!?!

"They didn't realize til yesterday."

Gee, thanks, guys. So............. what else are you not telling us?

Like I said in my post from yesterday, this is still a long ways from being over.

Seems criminal they spilled this stuff in the water and don't even know, or just aren't telling, what it is!

[Watermom]

I also forgot to mention that when asked if he felt it was safe for us to drink the water, our governor's reply was, "it's your decision about whether to use the water."

Isn't that comforting.

[JimK]

I also forgot to mention that when asked if he felt it was safe for us to drink the water, our governor's reply was, "it's your decision about whether to use the water."

Isn't that comforting.

I bet he isn't drinking it.