Another benefit of having a pool!

[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.

[CarlD]

I won't "talk politics" here, but you folks are in a h*ll of a mess and clearly it isn't getting fixed and you are not being given reliable information.
Is there enough rain and snow-melt to appreciably help?

[Watermom]

Nearly a month later and still there are issues. Most people are still not drinking or cooking with the water, me included. Every day, you hear more and more. Several times in the past month, the information has changed. First it was 5000 gallon of the MCHM leaked, then it was 7500, then 10,000. Then they tell us that it was apparently leaking for a few days before it was noticed and reported. Then, there was some discussion of it breaking down and causing formaldehyde. A real heyday for the lawyers.

Even today, students at 5 local schools were sent home because of the tell-tale licorice smell being apparent in the water. At one school, a teacher and a student passed out from the odor from flushing. Places flush and flush and flush. They have tested and say that the water is safe but after all the shenanigans that have gone on, people are not trusting. Erin Brockovich has even gotten involved.

If you haven't seen it, google for "Jon Stewart chemical." Funny. Sad, but funny.

Unbelievable.

[JimK]

What a catastrophe! I'm sure there will be big lawsuits. But didn't you day the company had filed bankruptcy? If so it's not likely anyone will get much compensation.

[CarlD]

It is a shell company that declared bankruptcy. They will need to peel back multiple onion layers to get to the money.
It is a revolting mess.

[BigDave]

I was happy today to see your puppies on forum posts again. Welcome back Watermom. How's your water? - I know your pool is good but is the faucet still foul?

[Watermom]

I've been around off and on all winter but there is not much to do. It is good to see forum traffic beginning to pick up a little again.
My puppies, though still pretty adorable to me, are not puppies any longer. They will actually be 3 in April and my older golden will be 10 in May. All are little girls and we really enjoy them.

Regarding the water situation ----Most people are still pretty skeptical and still using bottled water. Many restaurants are still cooking with bottled and serving bottled drinks. It has been kind of funny to listen to all of the officials of all the various involved agencies -- water company, EPA, DEA, health department, etc., dance around. None of the officials actually wanted to utter the word "safe." But, finally about a week ago, someone got brave and uttered the word --- not that it made much difference to most people. It is a trust issue now. I know very few people who are using it yet other than for showering and cleaning.

After two months, (leak happened on Jan. 9), this is the first week that the schools have quit using bottled water for cooking and that the water fountains have been uncovered, although many parents are just packing their child's lunch and still sending bottled water from home. Talk about having a lot of bottles to recycle everywhere! When I was at the recycling center a week ago, I actually took a picture because it was just so unbelievable to see the mountain of bottles!

The water company has not replaced filters yet. Says it may be months before they do. All of this is still very much in the forefront of the news around here. At my house, we are still using bottled. I'm not yet sure when I will switch. Like I said, it is a trust issue.

This has been the craziest year ever that I can remember. Between water contamination crisis and ridiculously atypical winter weather, the kids in my county have missed something like 20 days this year. I have lost count it has been so many.

Anxiously, (though not very patiently), waiting for spring!

[CarlD]

Even WITHOUT water problems the kids up here have missed so many school days they are taking 3 of the 5 days of the Spring Break to make up for the snow days. They hadn't budgeted in a winter break because they opened school late due to the religious holidays falling at a bad time in September. Had they done so, they would have taken days from the Feb break. Even so, they couldn't take the Friday before Presidents' Day and Presidents' Day because of contracts.
The problem is many people (like us) have already paid for Spring Break vacations--and many aren't refundable so the schools will be empty anyway.

And that's WITHOUT the water problems! We still have 6"-10" of snow on the ground, slowly melting.