Here are three reports dealing with local water systems ( Crowder Road, Loma Vista, Valley Meadows, Prairie Villa system, and Lathrop Industrial Park) which managed to make the news all on September 18, 1999.
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NOT PREFERRED: The state also removes the company from a list kept by the state Department of Health.
By D. Eric Jones The Olympian
TENINO - After failing to upgrade some troubled water systems on time, Virgil Fox has been fined $11,790 over and above a standing $3,420 fine that he has appealed.
Fox, owner of American Water Resources of Onalaska, also has been taken off a list of preferred water system providers kept by the state Department of Health, in part because of his failure to improve the Crowder Road water system south of Tenino.
Residents there have been forced to boil their drinking water since December.
Bill Liechty, supervisor of the state Department of Health's drinking water division for southwest Washington, said the new fine levied Sept. 8 was for three of Fox's systems that remained out of compliance. The penalty is determined by the severity of the threat, the number of people affected and - as was pertinent in Fox's case - the length of time for the threat to exist, Liechty said.
Meanwhile, area residents are considering suing Fox and have turned to county officials for help.
Thurston County Commissioner Kevin O'Sullivan and Thurston County Health Officer Dr. Diana Yu recently met with more than two dozen of the roughly 160 residents of the adjacent Loma Vista and Crowder Court neighborhoods, which have long standing water problems.
Thirty-five complaints from area residents have ranged from low water pressure to family illnesses in the past year. Yu also noted that the residual chlorine levels were too high in county tests.
"Public health can never come second to anything. Where there's public health or public safety at risk, you have to respond immediately," O'Sullivan said. "The issue is he's not fixing some of the problems."
If the problems continue, O'Sullivan suggested the county might try to take control of the system and look for another administrator. He also asked the Prosecutor's Office to review laws about drilling individual wells if problems persist.
"We have to come up with a Plan B for the health and welfare of the people here," he said.
Yu, who owns a water system, said Fox may have acquired too many water systems too quickly in the past few years.
"I think it's one of those issues of biting off more than
you can chew," she said.
Contacted by telephone, Fox accused O'Sullivan of being "more a part of the problem rather than a part of the cure."
"Those are considerable exaggerations that only tend to aggravate people here," Fox said.
Fox said his calls to O'Sullivan's office have not been returned. And, he said, it would be virtually impossible for the county to take over the wells because they likely will comply with state standards soon after permanent chlorination facilities are added - hopefully before Oct. 22.
Fox operates about 147 water systems providing water for about 1,700 people in Western Washington. Rates for the systems must be approved by the state Utilities and Transportation Commission. Tim Sweeney, a UTC spokesman said his agency has allowed Fox to add temporary surcharges to residents water bills - about $4.50 per month - to pay for the necessary upgrades.
But Fox said the amount allowed is insufficient for the cost of the upgrades. He requested another rate increase last week after the UTC deemed his service inadequate in 1998 and - in an unusual move - lowered residents' water rates.
Fox said he required the increase because he was losing money.
Fox also said drilling individual wells would be foolhardy if the source of coliform-contamination can't be found.
"The county doesn't want the people to do their own wells. Neither does the state. Neither do we because they'll only encounter the same problems because the water would be coming from the same aquifer."
Fox said he has been cooperating with state DOH officials, but Liechty said progress has been slow.
Liechty and other health officials met with Fox's representatives Sept. 3. Although the company promised to resolve the Crowder Road issue quickly, initial engineering plans submitted were inadequate, Liechty said.
DOH officials had planned to lift Crowder Road's boil-water order by Oct. 22, but now, that seems overly optimistic, Liechty said.
Eric Jones writes for The Olympian. He can be reached at 754-5445.
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The Chronicle
Customers of two Inland Southwest Washington water systems may drink their water again after more than nine months of living with a boil-water advisory, according to state and local health officials.
The boil-water advisories for the Valley Meadows system, in south Chehalis, and for the Prairie Villa system, in South Thurston County, were lifted Friday.
Nearly 150 residents in 58 homes use the Valley Meadows water system and about 40 people in 18 homes use the Prairie Villa water system.
Dr. Diana Yu, health officer for Thurston and Lewis counties, said she supports the Department of Health's decision to lift the boil water advisories.
A boil-water advisory remains for the Crowder Road system also owned by American Resources, in Tenino.
American Water Resources owns nearly 150 water systems Washington; of those, 40 are located in Thurston County and 30 Lewis County.
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By John Dodge The Olympian
State and local health officials lifted a boil water advisory Friday for a small water system in south Thurston County.
After 10 months of boiling their drinking water to avoid bacterial contamination, 40 people in 18 homes using the Prairie Villa water system have been told by health officials that their water is bacteria free.
"The water has been tested and is free of bacteria," said county Health Officer Dr. Diana Yu. "I feel comfortable that the health of the public is being protected."
The system is operated by American Water Resources Inc. of Onalaska, which owns 147 water systems in the state, including 40 in Thurston County Two of the company's systems in the county - Crowder Road serving 54 people and Lathrop Industrial Park serving one home and 18 businesses - remain under an advisory urging consumers to boil the water or find other sources of drinking water.
John Dodge covers the environment for The Olympian. He can be reached at 754-5444.
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