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8.5.03 M.U.D. foils bacteria in water The Metropolitan Utilities District put its testing into overdrive last month as it worked to keep traces of coliform bacteria out of the Omaha area's tap water. The problem resulted from an inferior shipment of lime, said Chris Fox, director of water quality. Ultimately, M.U.D. solved the problem by switching lime providers. Public health was never in danger, he said. "We did what we could to nip the problem before it became a problem," Fox said, "and I feel comfortable that public health was not at risk." M.U.D. had been working since spring to resolve problems with a shipment of slow-acting lime, Fox said. Lime removes hardness from water. Hard water doesn't harm health, but it reduces the effectiveness of soap and leaves mineral deposits. High-quality lime acts within three minutes to soften water, but this lime was taking up to a half an hour. For most of the spring, the problem was minor, Fox said. But with high summer demand, M.U.D. was moving water through its treatment plant so quickly that the slow-acting lime became a concern. It was clouding more water further along in the process, Fox said. The cloudiness was more difficult for the disinfectants, chlorine and chloramine, to penetrate. As a result, total coliform bacteria was being found later in the treatment process than M.U.D. wants, he said. Total coliform bacteria can be an indicator of E. coli bacteria, a source of intestinal illness. Fox said M.U.D.'s filters removed the coliform bacteria, so none left the plant. The utility typically conducts about three total coliform bacteria tests a day. During this period, it was conducting about a dozen, Fox said. M.U.D. also tests tap water in the community each day, and none of those tests indicated a problem. M.U.D. had been buying lime from Arkansas Lime since September 1, 2001. Last month, it switched to Mississippi Lime. |
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