Recent heavy rainfall and heavy flooding in and around the Jefferson area may have brought with it long-term effects not anticipated by the city.
Business closures, crop losses, and additional road maintenance were obvious offshoots of the adverse weather, but government agencies have begun asking questions about the quality of the very drinking water the community depends on.
The Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (OGWDW), a division of the EPA, whose most basic task is overseeing the implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act, periodically tests the contaminant levels in drinking water throughout our country on a more or less random basis. The concern here is that recent flooding may have in some way led to a contamination of Jefferson's drinking water supply.
Jeffersoniowanews.com obtained several samples of the city's water, and tested it ourselves. These tests ranged from simply observing its appearance and odor to actually tasting it, and finally testing it in our lab for abnormal objects including bacteria and other unwanted debris.
As
you can see from the photo at left, we can assure our Jefferson readers
that their drinking water seems to be in keeping with the standards
which were set years ago and have been diligently followed since. The
amount of excess debris floating and in suspension is within the limits
accepted by the city. Results from our lab tests will be made public as we receive them, but we can report that during the actual physical tests performed, the only disagreeable quality seemed to be a slight smell of dead cats.
Submitted by Spencer Straight (06-30-08)