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BREAKING NEWS: Jenkinsville Water Company violates several DHEC regulations
by Kevin Boozer
Staff Writer
Jul 31, 2012 | 1040 views | 0 0 comments | 3 3 recommendations | email to a friend | print

The July boil water advisory for Jenkinsville has revealed more than just the presence of E. Coli or high coliform levels.

The way the matter was handled has revealed violations on the part of the Jenkinsville Water Company.

According to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, its records find the company at fault for not reporting a positive E. Coli. sample to DHEC by the end of that work day.

The agency also cited the company for failure to issue public notice within 24 hours of learning of the water violation.

Bruce Bleau, manager of the Drinking Water Compliance and Monitoring Section for DHEC, confirmed by letter that positive test results were emailed to the Jenkinsville Water Company by their contract laboratory on July 5 at 2:20 p.m. but that DHEC was not emailed that information until 3:09 p.m. on July 6.

He also noted that a Tier 1 public notice was not issued until July 9. On that date, July 9, a boil water advisory was issued for customers of the Jenkinsville Water Company.

DHEC officials noted that the water company was issued guidelines on how to give a proper public notification in the event of including mandatory health effects language.However, those guidelines were not adhered to.

DHEC confirmed that bacteriological monitoring showed the Jenkinsville water system exceeded the maximum containment level for total coliform and for E. Coli during July 2012.

Fecal coliforms and E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that water may be contaminated withe human or animal wastes.

Microbes in these wastes can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches or other symptoms and may pose a special health risk for infants, young children and people with severely compromised immune systems.

On July 26 DHEC informed Jenkinsville Water Company Gregory Ginyard that the company was found to be in violation of State Primary Drinking Water Regulations.

The correspondence cited “a failure to collect triggered source water samples” for the July monitoring period.

This failure was a violation of section R.61-58.5.G(2)(a) which states that “A ground water system must collect within 24 hours of notification of the total coliform positive sample, at least one ground water source sample from each ground water source in use at the time the total coliform positive sample was collected.”

Environmental Compliance Coordinator Wendi Smith with the Drinking Water Compliance and Monitoring Section of DHEC said that the Jenkinsville Water Company water system’s July 2012 bacteriological monitoring report indicated that the source water samples were not collected.Source water samples should have been taken during that time period.

Since the company is a water system that is out of compliance with DHEC regulations, the Jenkinsville Water Company must collect source water samples during a specified monitoring period and the company must make the violation public notice within one year.

These violations are the latest in a series on controversies involving the water company.

Its board next public meeting is Monday at 6 p.m. at the Jenkinsville Water Company Building.



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