The problem, it turns out, was that there was excess sediment flowing into one of the treatment plants (in Mesa!) as a result from heavy runoff from recent storms. This caused the sediment level to rise to 2.1 parts per billion, over twice the Federal standard of 1 part per billion. Whoopee! I'm sure this water would have been welcomed in Indonesia. Even at the "unsafe" levels, your odds of getting hit by lightning were much, much greater than getting sick from this water.
Unlike the water, very little was real clear in the news releases. There was near panic here in the Valley, whether you were a resident of Phoenix proper or not. There were no clear cut guidelines for residents and businesses to follow. All they said was don't drink the water or brush your teeth in it until you've boiled it. Period.
It is amazing how this was interpreted across the Valley. At my wife's school, they were initially told not to use the toilets. I don't think the kids there drink out of the toilets (although my dog loves it).
At my workplace, the proper precautions were taken - signs were posted at all the drinking fountains. In the cafeteria, there was no coffee or soda (although the soda dispensers don't use tap water except in the ice dispenser - go figure). They also brought in bottled water.
Anyhow, the advisory was lifted at 4:00 pm on Wednesday pending test results, although they were supposed to have been lifted at noon, and preliminary tests reported the night before showed excellent results. So what was the delay?
This whole mess leads to some burning issues. First, the source of the problem was traced to heavy storm runoff. "Unprecedented" was the word they used. Excuse me, but I've lived here in the Valley most of my life. While there is now water flowing in the normally dry Salt River, it is nothing like it was back around 1980 when only two or three bridges connected commuters to both sides of the river. I saw with my own eyes as a wall of water rushed down the river and took out the bridges over Hayden Road and Scottsdale Road. So don't call this unprecedented. This is a mere trickle in comparison.
Second, we have had some heavy rains that could have caused this runoff. But that was two weeks before the plant was shut down. It took two weeks for a problem to arise? Now I'm not a scientist nor an engineer, but come on!
And third, once the water was declared safe to drink, does that mean we could turn on the faucet and - voila - we have instant clean water? No! All the bad water would still be in the pipes. The entire system would have to have been flushed with super-chlorinated water (this happened in Peoria AZ in 2002 after two infant boys died from meningitis suspected - but never proven - to have been traced to bacteria in the water supply of an independent water company).
And apparently Phoenix mayor, Phil Gordon, wants some answers now. Yeah, we all do, Phil.
I'm pretty thankful - this week anyway - that I don't live in Phoenix proper. I just work and go to church there. I have to admit I was the first one to the drinking fountain when the announcement was made on Wednesday afternoon.
It's amazing how we take things for granted - like expecting clean drinking water out of our faucets. Who knew? Meanwhile, I'm thankful that the City of Phoenix water is safe to drink (and always was). But as always, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, as does the fact that we live in an idiocracy.
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