Pe Ell deluges officials with water queries.

Concerned Pe Ell residents telephoned the Lewis County Health Division in droves Wednesday, one day after the county issued a boil-water notice.

Health officials issued the water-treatment notice in response to state concerns about the city's deteriorating water system, which needs about $2 million in repairs.

The town's water-filtration system isn't working and its pipes leak badly, possibly allowing contaminants to infect consumers.

The town's 615 residents were advised to boil water used for drinking, cooking and food preparation. Water should be boiled for five minutes to kill any microbiological contaminants. Water used for bathing or laundering clothes does not require treatment.

County health officials fielded as many as 150 calls Wednesday, said Jim Phillips, Health Division manager.

"I think we answered everyone's questions to the best of our ability," Phillips said. "It's really out of our hands. The city's going to have to fix their problem."

Town Mayor John Penberth expressed frustration Wednesday after unsuccessfully trying to reach the Lewis County commissioners, who were at a conference in Ocean Shores.

"They set my house on fire and then they shut the water off," Penberth said, speaking figuratively of his dilemma.

"This is a case of hiding and ducking away from the issues," he said. "I don't think it's a good position to put the citizens of Pe Ell in."

Town residents got a boost Wednesday when the Salvation Army delivered 40 6-gallon cases of bottled water. Town Clerk Jeanette Schwartz said employees gave 2 gallons to each household for those who requested it.

By late Wednesday afternoon, just 25 cases were left, and Penberth said the town would try to provide more.

"People are very nice (despite the problem), and the community as a whole has been very mellow," Penberth said. "They haven't overwhelmed City Hall."

Phillips said many callers to the Health Division asked to speak to workers in the county water laboratory.

Some asked whether their health maladies could be related to water problems. But Dr. Thomas Bell, Lewis County health officer, said citizens should telephone their family doctors because it's nearly impossible tell over the phone whether people became sick from the water.

"We can't tell them whether that's right or wrong without doing tests, and we're not in a position to do the tests," Bell said.

Few people called the Pe Ell Health Center to report problems, said nurse practitioner Laura Lusk. One person called to ask if it were all right to use a private well, and another just wanted to know what was going on.

Microbes most likely to thrive in the compromised water supply are giardia and cryptosporidium, Bell said. But the county has no records of anyone getting these germs in Pe Ell since at least 1991.

Giardia can cause "acute watery diarrhea with abdominal pain - foul smelling diarrhea - with flatulence - and anorexia (loss of appetite)," according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Cryptosporidium infection can cause "frequent, watery diarrhea or abdominal pain, anorexia and weight loss," the Academy said.

People with compromised immune systems, especially those infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can develop chronic, severe diarrhea, leading to death.

Other germs of concern include E. coli 0157:H7 and hepatitis A. A vaccine for hepatitis A is available at the county Health Division and from many doctors or clinics.