URI confirms water contamination in BISC, ban effective until Tuesday

10/21/08 - On Sunday, results from weekly water sample tests confirmed that a portion of the University of Rhode Island's water supply is contaminated with fecal coliform bacteria, a form of E. coli.As a result, a water advisory urging students and faculty members not to drink tap water was issued.

The independent company that analyzes university water for contaminants, BAL labs, alerted Facility Services Thursday that a sample taken the previous day was returned with positive results for coliform.

There are 10 buildings in which regular water samples are conducted on a rotational basis. Each week, the lab collects samples from five of those buildings.

According to Jerry Sidio, director of Facility Services, it is not uncommon for initial tests to come back with false positives.

On Friday another water sample was taken, and on Sunday the lab confirmed that coliform was still present.

"You get two positive samples and you've got a problem," Sidio said.

Testing revealed the site of contamination to be the Biological Science Center.

Though there is no definite answer as to what caused the contamination, there are two likely possibilities, he said.

First, waterlines near BISC may have been damaged during recent construction and contaminants may have seeped in as a result.

One other possibility is the contaminants may have been used in a BISC laboratory sink and a malfunction in the faucet's water pressure sucked water back in instead of it going down the drain.

On Saturday and Sunday a crew of university engineers and plumbers were sent to BISC to investigate possible sources of contamination.

"They didn't find any smoking guns," Sidio said.

Since little else is known about the conditions in which bacteria was introduced into the university's system, he said the university may never be able to pinpoint the cause.

He added that Facility Services is continuing to investigate.

In the meantime, campus waterlines are being chlorinated to eliminate any traces of bacteria that may have traveled past BISC.

On Friday, as a precaution, Facility Services released small amounts of chlorine into the waterlines, about .2 parts per million. This low amount is not able to be tasted or smelled, and is safe to drink.

However, after receiving the second positive test results, the university injected BISC's water sources with 10 parts per million, a level that is unsafe to consume, and irritating to skin and eyes.

In compliance with state health board regulations, the university was required to issue a water advisory.

"It's a precautionary warning - a smart one," Sidio said of the board's protocol. "We support it."

Notices regarding the ban were placed on doors in every university building and dormitory. In addition, the URI Department of Communications and Marketing sent out an e-mail in hopes of advising members of the campus community.

Faculty members received an initial e-mail on Friday concerning test results, but because of an oversight, the e-mail was not sent to students.

"There was apparently a miscommunication on the ListServ," Sido said. "The intent was to hit everyone."

Both faculty and students received a more detailed e-mail Sunday evening. Sidio said it came much later than the department intended because the university's e-mail system was down.

The handful of local residents living on Plains Road are also on the university's waterline, and are were notified at their residences.

Sidio said the university relies on well-water, which is why the ban did not extend past campus limits.

In addition to being flushed with chlorine, BISC's water system was completely drained and shut down yesterday. The buildings labs and bathrooms were out of commission, but classes were still held.

The chlorine will be flushed out of the system today, and water will be turned back on.

"We think those are kind of extraordinary measures, but we think they're important so that we effectively address the problem," Sidio said.

Bottled water is being provided to students for free in front of the Memorial Union and in Hope Commons. Dining Services will continue to provide the water until the ban is lifted.

Sidio said the ban should be lifted by the end of this week, if all goes according to plan and the three consecutive water samples return with negative results.

Sidio said he was "very disappointed" in what test results confirmed. He added that this is the first time in many years, perhaps more than a decade, since it's been an issue.

One thing Sidio was pleased with, despite a communication error, was the university's response.

"I think the response was very deliberate. It was proactive. We stayed well ahead of all the health board's requirements," he said.

Though the university is keeping tabs on money spent to correct the problem, Sidio declined to release an estimate. He did say that so far, the highest expenditure has likely been the bottled water provided to students.

"We'll get [negative results], hopefully sooner than later, and we'll try to give some updates as we progress," he said.

Student Senate Campus Affairs Chairwoman Amanda LaRocca said that although the university went "above and beyond" state health regulations, students should have been notified earlier and in a more direct way.

"What we take issue with is that students were not properly informed," she said.

LaRocca added that Student Senate would have preferred residence assistants to be informed of the contamination so they could go door-to-door because "no one knew what was going on.