Wednesday, January 23, 2002
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Wednesday, January 23, 2002 |
| State tests
water again
Some residents complain about 'sweet odor' to drinking water By DAVE HAMRICK
State environmental officials collected more samples of Fayette County's drinking water Tuesday after running tests on earlier samples in a search for answers to reports of a sweet odor to the water. Results of the first tests were not available as of Tuesday afternoon. Lab workers were testing for chemical agents, specifically glycol, a chemical used in deicing operations at Hartsfield International Airport. One resident had put forth the theory that glycol from deicing during the Atlanta area's recent snow storm found its way into the Flint River, which supplies much of Fayette's drinking water. The Citizen learned this week that there also was a recent spill of deicing chemicals at the airport, but no details were available at press time. Officials of the state Environmental Protection Division also collected samples from Griffin, where residents also have complained of an odor. Fayette Water System director Tony Parrott asked the state to test the water last week after his office received about 50 phone calls complaining of the odor. One resident, Patty Culjak, complained that officials at the Water System and in the county government showed a lack of concern about what she considers a potentially serious problem, but Parrott said the system is doing all it can to find the source of the odor and correct it. "I have no idea at this point how my baby's been affected by it," Culjak said last week. Culjak, who is expecting, said she first noticed the odor about two weeks ago but "didn't pay too much mind at first." But as time went on and the smell persisted, she decided to phone the water system. Apparently others went through the same thought process, because the system was deluged with about 50 phone calls Monday, Jan. 14, all from south Fayette, mostly Peachtree City, said Parrott. Culjak said her husband filed a complaint last Tuesday with the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Meanwhile, at EPD's suggestion, Fayette has been feeding carbon into the system to remove any chemical contaminants that may be in the water, and the South Fayette Treatment Plant, which takes water from the Flint River, was shut down. Parrott said he expected to restart the plant by today, following a thorough cleaning. Culjak said she is frustrated that EPD and the water system aren't issuing a county-wide warning not to drink the water. But Jim Banks of EPD's Drinking Water Program said, "The water, I think, is safe." But he said each customer must decide personally whether to drink it.
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