is your well water safe

50% tested have bacteria

Seymour Herald/Library Photo

Sample of the coliform bacteria

published: July 10 2008 10:34 AM updated:: July 10 2008 11:12 AM

On June 19 The Sevier County Rotary Water Task Force distributed more than 200 test kits to residents at four locations in an effort to assess well water sanitation throughout the county. The following week 196 kits were returned for evaluation. The area of distribution was Gatlinburg Boys and Girls Club, Pigeon Forge Community Center, Sevierville Civic Center and Seymour United Methodist Church.

Exactly half of the samples tested revealed some presence of bacteria.

All residents who submitted test samples should receive personalized results in the mail.

The water samples were checked for “total coliform,” with results ranging from 0 parts per 100 ml to “TNTC” (too numerous to count). Coliforms are a kind of bacteria located in the digestive tracts of animals and humans transferred in the soil and decaying vegetation. They are generally not harmful, but they are used as a gauge of water quality. Water contamination is typically associated with fecal contamination from animals and humans.

The Environmental Protection Agency says that no level of bacteria in drinking water is safe. The United States Departments of Federal Housing Administration and Housing and Urban Development both will accept bacterial counts under 10 parts per 100 ml as acceptably healthy for drinking water.

A full report of the study will be presented at two seminars, 2:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., July 22, 2008, at the Sevierville Civic Center, 200 Gary Wade Boulevard. These seminars are offered to residents wanting to insure safety of their household drinking water. Information will be presented at these meetings on maintenance of clean well water and “shocking” procedures for water systems.

All interested persons are invited to attend these seminars. There is no admission charge.

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User Comments

#1 Betty Vickers commented, on July 10, 2008 at 4:50 p.m.:

Thanks for covering this community service project. We have discovered that this is a very important subject to Sevier County participants. Many people who do not participate in the well-water test attend the seminar and incorporate the information learned into their home maintenance plans. NFKN

#2 Concerned citizen commented, on July 11, 2008 at 7:55 a.m.:

The most common cause of bacterial contamination like this is faulty or leak septic systems. When a county has a 50% failure rate - that is extremely high and should be setting off alarm bells at the health department and the mayors office. Something is wrong in a county where we accept a 50% failure rate. This failure rate was also found the last time these tests were done. That tells us our public officials are failing us badly in protecting our groundwater sources. Testing the water is identifying the problem - what are public officials actually doing to address the problem? We take clean water as granted until it isn't anymore.

#3 Concerned citizen commented, on July 11, 2008 at 10:35 a.m.:

I am aware that many new wells come in showing contamination long before septic systems or leaky water pipe can be the cause of the problem. Our ground water is contaminated.

#4 Clean Water Please commented, on July 11, 2008 at 9:48 p.m.:

With the Karst terraine around us here in East Tennessee it is like swiss cheese with holes, pencil caves and lots of avenues for septic contamination to travel fast. Even a brand new well can be contaminated with fecal from any number of nearby septic systems. We even have our county stormwater manager, Doyle Clabo quoted in the paper recently saying that he knows of houses that still straight pipe their sewage right to the creek - and he says that he can't do anythihng about it. He takes the water samples upstream so it doesn't look so bad. If our public officials will tell you publicly that they can't do anything about people stright piping raw sewage into the creek what does that tell you about how concerned they are for your health or for clean water? Something is wrong is Sevier County and our public health officials need a wake up call. A 50% failure rate of well water tested in the county should be that wake up call. That is disgusting.

#5 John commented, on July 13, 2008 at 3:12 a.m.:

Doyle Clabo is unqualified and should be fired!