originally posted on June 7, 2016

The City of New Carlisle was under a water boil advisory from Friday evening until Sunday morning. The advisory was the result of a “water test for bacteria on June 2 that came back Total Coliform Positive,” according to City Public Service Director Howard Kitko. A subsequent test came back negative, and the advisory was lifted.
“It could have been a contaminated sample,” said Water Superintendent Jason Rose. “The sample could have been contaminated in a number of ways.” Rose said that the EPA was out on Monday and cleared the city’s system. “We believe it was a false positive,” said Rose.

Some city residents were not happy with the way the notification was handled.

The city has a “one-call” system that allows the city to send phone messages to residents to disseminate crucial information. A “one-call” was put out for the boil advisory, but several residents complained to Council that they did not receive that call. City Manager Randy Bridge stated that the system is operated by the county and that all the city does is initiate the calls.
“I authorized the call for the boil advisory,” said Kitko. “I called it in, they responded with a sample call to check for accuracy and clarity and I approved it.”

“I know several people who didn’t know about the advisory,” said resident Grace Myers. She said that several years ago, someone would drive up the streets with a bullhorn with important announcements. “You’re expecting everyone to be connected,” she said. “Many are not.”

“If we had done the bullhorn, we probably would have induced panic,” said Bridge. “If it were more severe, those types of actions might be appropriate.”

Bridge said that the city has procedures in place to notify people. “It’s your responsibility to take advantage of them,” he said.

The New Carlisle News sent two questions to the City regarding the quality of water, but no response was received. At the council meeting, we asked if a response would be coming, and City Manager Randy Bridge said, “Maybe. We don’t have to respond to media requests.”

Resident Rick Brest expressed concern that no one from the city was available to the public to answer questions. “The notice said there was a boil advisory,” said Brest. “There were no other details. I called all weekend.”

Bridge brought up the possibility of a recording at the City’s number to pass along information when the offices are closed.

The City of New Carlisle issued the following statement on Tuesday, June 7:

On Friday, June 3, 2016 the City of New Carlisle issued a precautionary boil advisory for water consumption. The boil advisory was lifted on the morning of Sunday, June 5, 2016.

A special purpose sample was collected on Tuesday, May 31, 2016 from a tap in the City’s Water Treatment Plant. This sample tested positive for total coliform/E. coli. The results from this sample were received by the City of New Carlisle on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Repeat sampling is recommended by the EPA for verification prior to issuing a boil advisory

Due to the positive sample result, a set of 3 samples was collected on Thursday, June 2, 2016. The samples were taken from the License Bureau, the New Carlisle Family Practice, and same Water Treatment Plant tap.

The City received the results from the laboratory on at approximately 6:45 PM on Friday Evening June 3, 2016. The results of these samples showed negative results for the samples taken from the License Bureau and the New Carlisle Family Practice while the Water Plant tap sample tested positive for total coliform, negative for E. coli.

The Water Superintendent immediately contacted the City Manager and Public Service Director to advise issuing a precautionary boil advisory. All aspects of the City’s Contingency Plan were followed to issue the boil advisory, including all state and local procedures.

Due to a positive special purpose sample and a positive repeat special purpose sample it was determined to issue a precautionary boil advisory. Media outlets (radio and television) were then contacted as well as the Clark County Emergency Management’s Hyper-Reach program. The City also listed the notification on the City’s website and local Facebook Groups.

On the evening of Friday, June 3, 2016 an additional 9 samples were collected for testing. The samples were collected from the following places: Water Treatment Plant, 3 Wells, 2 Water Towers, the City Building, Speedway, and the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant. These samples were sent to the City of Eaton, Ohio for testing.

The results from the 9 samples were sent to the City of New Carlisle at approximately 9:30AM on Sunday, June 5, 2016. Upon certification from the City of New Carlisle’s Water Superintendent, all samples tested negative and the City then began following our procedures to lift the precautionary boil advisory, to include contacting the media, the Hyper-Reach System, and local Facebook Groups.

For the safety of our citizens, business owners and visitors, the City issued a precautionary boil advisory and re-sampled and sent to a different laboratory for analysis. Once the re-samples were confirmed negative, the City lifted the precautionary boil advisory.

The City understands this was an inconvenience. To ensure the continued health of all that live, work, and play in the great City of New Carlisle, a precautionary boil advisory was recommended and quickly, without delay, put into action.