Our water system recently violated a drinking water standard. Although this incident was not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened and what we did to correct this situation.
The City of Casselberry routinely monitors for drinking water contaminants. During the month of February 2012, we took a total of 161 samples to test for the presence of coliform bacteria. Of these samples, 13 tested positive for coliform bacteria. The current regulations require that no more than 5% of our monthly samples test positive for total coliform bacteria. The percentage samples that failed is approximately 8%.
What should I do?
You do not need to boil your water or take other corrective actions. However, if you have specific health concerns, consult your doctor.
People with severely compromised immune systems, infants, and some elderly may be at increased risk. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1(800) 426-4791.
What does this mean?
This is not an emergency. If it had been, you would have been notified immediately. Coliform bacteria are generally not harmful themselves. Coliforms are bacteria which are naturally present in the environment and are used as an indicator that other, potentially harmful bacteria, may be present. Coliforms were found in more samples than allowed and this was a warning of potential problems.
Usually, coliforms are a sign that there could be a problem with our treatment or distribution system (pipes). Whenever we detect coliform bacteria in any sample, we do follow-up testing to see if other bacteria of greater concern, such as fecal coliform or E. coli are present. We did not find any of these bacteria in our subsequent testing, and further testing shows that this problem has been resolved.
What happened? What was done?
The actual cause for the presence of coliform bacteria in February’s drinking water samples has not been positively identified. There are a number of possible causes which may lead to the presence of coliform bacteria in drinking water, including but not limited to, construction activities, dust and pollen.
At this time, samples taken for the subsequent sampling period have tested negative for the presence of coliform bacteria. The City of Casselberry also continues to monitor for the chlorine disinfection levels at the water plants and throughout the distribution system to ensure that the drinking water is properly disinfected.
For more information please contact the Casselberry Public Works Department at 407-262-7725, ext. 1239 or write to City of Casselberry, Attn: Public Works Department, 95 Triplet Lake Drive, Casselberry, FL 32707.