Bacteria Contamination Found In Samples From Water District

A water district serving about 5,000 people in the Spokane Valley recently discovered contamination at one of its test sites.

A bacteria was found in samples taken from a gas station restroom on Jan. 10, said Spokane County Water District No. 3 General Manager Ty Wick.

A sample taken from a test site next to Zip’s Drive-In, E6411 Sprague, also contained the contaminant the following week, Wick said.

The district is bounded by Trent to the north, Argonne to the east, Twenty-first to the south and Havana to the west.

The presence of the bacteria indicates the water might be contaminated with organisms that can cause disease. Symptoms can include diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches and fatigue.

No illness was reported.

When bacteria appears in testing, repeat tests are required the following week. On the 17th, the water at Zip’s was clean, but bacteria showed up just west of that site, Wick said.

Two positive tests constitute a violation. What a violation occurs, the water district must notify the public and disinfect the water system.

The reservoir serving the area has been flushed out with chlorine, Wick said. He expects the problem to be gone when the water is tested next week.

This is the first violation of this type in about 10 years, Wick said. Possible causes are varied. “The sample site could have been dirty, stale water sitting in the pipes all winter,” he said.

After district employees chlorinated the water, people called to say the chlorine was making them sick, but no one reported illness from the contamination, Wick said.

The problem probably came from a faucet that hadn’t been well cleaned, Wick said. District employees might change sampling sites because it’s hard to find a site that’s cleaned thoroughly, he said. All samples taken from Zip’s during the summer were clean.

“A gas station is not a very clean site. The best one is somebody’s house, but that’s difficult because people aren’t home,” Wick said.