JACKSON, Wyo. — Community members and visitors let out a collective sigh of relief on Saturday afternoon when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in conjunction with the Town of Jackson (TOJ), lifted the town-wide boil water advisory.
The boil advisory was implemented around 5 p.m. on Thursday and lasted just about 44 hours. Two days earlier, a routine test flagged an indicator bacteria in a local water sample, and TOJ was subsequently required by the EPA to test all potential well sources for contaminants. One well, which had not been in use for two weeks due to the routine sequence of operations, tested positive for E. coli. This test result triggered the EPA to implement the boil water order out of an abundance of caution related to public health.
Buckrail caught up with TOJ’s Director of Public Works Johnny Ziem, who explained the next possible steps and the likelihood that contaminated water actually made it into the water system (Ziem said the probability was low).
Ziem told Buckrail that water managers do not know where the bacteria came from, and they most likely will not be able to determine the exact source. The well that returned the contaminated water sample is currently offline and will remain out of production until the EPA gives the go-ahead. This fall, TOJ will perform maintenance on that well, which will include pulling it out of the ground, and inspecting and disinfecting its pipes and pipe casings. Comprehensive maintenance is typically completed on a Town well every other year.
“That’s something we’re going to do internally, but really it’s going to come down to working with the EPA and what they want to see us do,” Ziem said. He later added: “I don’t know if the EPA will mandate that we have to do all the improvements before putting the well back online or if they will let us put the well back online with additional testing. … We have a lot of questions.”
Based on the physical well system, Ziem said the likelihood of the contaminated water reaching the water system was relatively low, but because the chances were above 0%, cautionary steps were required. All water that enters the well and water network goes through a disinfection system immediately, before it even reaches the well’s pump. A safe amount of chlorine is added to provide some protection from pathogens. Ziem said this is typical for all municipal water systems. The EPA required that the additional samples come from water before it went through the disinfection process, or with the disinfection system turned off.
“I would say the chances were were pretty low,” Ziem said, referring to contaminated water entering the Town’s pipes. “But, you know, when you’re talking about public health and public safety, you always err on the side of caution. So you always go through the steps, go through the procedures to make sure.”
On Thursday, TOJ took 20 samples from different locations in the water system, as well as five samples from the well in question. On Friday, samples were taken from 20 town locations, as well as four samples from that well, and samples from two nearby wells, “just to triple check and make sure,” Ziem said. All samples from those two days came back negative for bacteria and E. coli. The two consecutive days of clean test results allowed the EPA to lift the boil order.
“I was thrilled with the response that we got back from people in the community and outside the community who offered to help,” Ziem said. “So I thought that was really good, and it speaks volumes to our community. … I think that’s just really cool to live in a community like that.”
