[StBernard] DHH issues emergency rule for water systems in response to brain-eating amoeba

[Westley Annis]

DHH issues emergency rule for water systems in response to brain-eating
amoeba

BY RICHARD THOMPSON
rthompson at theadvocate.com
November 08, 2013

"The S&WB already maintains a number of safeguards to ensure a quality and
safe drinking water system for our residents, including operating with
increased chlorine levels. We are constantly monitoring the status of the
city's water supply in coordination with DHH and are confident the system is
already meeting the new requirements." Marcia St. martin, Sewerage & Water
Board executive director

The Louisiana health department this week issued an emergency rule requiring
most water systems in the state to maintain a higher disinfectant level, the
first change in required chlorine levels in almost two decades as officials
respond to a rare brain-eating amoeba found in two water systems in recent
months.

The Department of Health and Hospitals announced the changes Thursday, two
months after confirming a 4-year-old boy died after becoming infected with
the Naegleria fowleri amoeba from contaminated water at a St. Bernard Parish
home. The rare contaminant was also found in treated water in DeSoto Parish
in northwest Louisiana.

Previous state regulations, dating from 1995, required water systems to have
"trace" or "detectable" levels of chlorine.

The new rule raises the minimum disinfectant level to .5 milligram of
disinfectant per liter of water throughout the system, an amount believed to
be effective in controlling the amoeba. The new rules also require water
systems to increase by 25 percent the number of sites where samples are
taken.

In September, state tests showed water in several areas of St. Bernard -
including near where the young boy is believed to have been infected - had
low chlorine levels.

Health officials issued the emergency rule after meeting with scientists,
federal officials, industry leaders and water system operators, using data
and recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, DHH said in a news release.

The amoeba cannot be contracted by drinking water.

Gov. Bobby Jindal addressed the new regulation Thursday, noting that the
requirements are "above and beyond federal standards."

"Obviously, we want to make sure the water's as safe as humanly possible,"
Jindal said.

Water systems are required to comply with the changes by Feb. 1, 2014, or to
request additional time to make necessary infrastructure improvements.

St. Bernard has been flushing enough chlorine through its water supply to
minimize the threat of the Naegleria fowleri amoeba for the past eight
weeks, with the aim of getting to 1 milligram of chlorine per liter of water
throughout the system, Christina Stephens, a DHH spokeswoman, said in an
email. DHH "continues to take and analyze samples from the water system
regularly to monitor the parish's progress," she said.

"Currently, St. Bernard has raised its level from before the start of the
burn, but it has not quite raised its level to the 1.0 level across the
entire system," Stephens said.

"The parish has installed a chlorine booster station and is looking into
other ways to raise the chlorine level across the system."

Parish President David Peralta said the parish water supply has improved
since the flushing began.

Some experts have speculated that the parish's sharp population drop in the
years after Hurricane Katrina could be a factor in the low chlorine levels,
since fewer residents are using the water, which means it's not moving as
actively through the system.

Peralta believes that's been a big factor.

In 2012, St. Bernard's population was about 41,600 people, according to U.S.
Census estimates, down by more than 25,000 from 2000.

"You've got to keep flushing," Peralta said. "That's part of our problem
here in St. Bernard. We're not getting good flow movement through the water
system."

Parish officials are working to get financing from DHH's drinking water
revolving loan fund to replace old, cast-iron waterlines that have a history
of failing, largely in Arabi and Violet. Parish officials have identified 31
waterline segments as high-priority. The work is estimated to cost $15.7
million.

Water from two fire hydrants and two faucets, all in Arabi and Violet,
tested positive for the amoeba in recent months.

At those sites, on the outer ends of the water system, chlorine levels were
either very low or non-existent.

Health officials believe the 4-year-old boy likely contracted the amoeba on
a Slip 'N' Slide at a mobile home near Violet.

The August death marked the third Naegleria fowleri-related death in
Louisiana since 2011, officials said.

Only 128 people have reportedly contracted the disease in the United States
since 1962, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Almost all of them have died.

Several public health experts said Thursday that they expect the new
requirements will be effective in controlling the amoeba.

"It makes good sense to try to eliminate the organisms from any public water
supply by increasing the chlorine levels," said Fred Lopez, an infectious
disease specialist at LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans.

LuAnn White, the interim dean of the School of Public Health and Tropical
Medicine at Tulane University, noted that chlorine levels will drop as water
gets farther from the distribution plant.

"Certainly, it's a step to protect not only against the amoeba but other
bacteriological or microorganisms that might gain entry into a water
system," White said. "And any time you monitor, you can find if you have a
problem, so increased monitoring is always good."

Local water department officials said they were ready to comply with the new
requirements.

In New Orleans, the Sewerage & Water Board has already increased water
sampling in anticipation of the new regulations, Executive Director Marcia
St. Martin said in a statement. The water system's chlorine residual levels
are "well above the minimum levels," she said.

"The S&WB already maintains a number of safeguards to ensure a quality and
safe drinking water system for our residents, including operating with
increased chlorine levels," St. Martin said, "We are constantly monitoring
the status of the city's water supply in coordination with DHH and are
confident the system is already meeting the new requirements."