Coliform gone from Emkayan water system

By GWEN ALBERS Western News Reporter

The water at Emkayan Village has received a clean bill of health.

Samples taken Nov. 20 indicated the coliform found one month earlier is gone.

"All five samples came back negative," said water system Frank Votapka.

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality issued an advisory notice to the water system's 175 users after coliform showed up in water samples taken on Oct. 17 and 23. The presence of the bacteria is generally not harmful. Residents, however, were told if concerned to boil water for one minute before drinking it.

Disease symptoms could include diarrhea, cramps, nausea and possibly jaundice, and any associated headaches and fatigue. These symptoms, however, are not just associated with disease-causing organisms in drinking water, but also may be caused by a number of factors.

Saundra Ewing, total coliform rule specialist with the DEQ in Helena, said she expected to lift the health advisory on Monday, Nov. 27.

"They did a follow-up and all is satisfactory," Ewing said. "I need to make sure I have a copy of the samples and should get that report today. I will send a letter to the operator of the system and it will be lifted."

Chlorine was added to the water to get rid of the coliform, but will not continue to be added, Votapka said.

"We only gave it a shot of chlorine to disinfect the whole system. We sampled both sites that had the bad samples and three other sites. All were negative."

The water system operator used to always add chlorine, but it was then left up to the operator's discretion.

The subdivision of 65 homes gets its water from a collection of springs.

The coliform's source is unknown, but could have been from a leak in a water line.

To Votapka's knowledge, no one has gotten sick.

The water system experienced a similar problem in October 2005.