Indy Water issues boil alert; schools delay start

When I read about the Chinese history of the Water & boiling of Water back to 6,000years ago. Then there is hardly the size of populations & Industries pollutions today.

But then the Emperor & Guru have been teaching people to boil water before one drink. My late mom have been boiling water for us to drink since baby, till today, I am still doing it.

And I found that the Water before boiling is consider as "Yin" & the Water After Boiled is having the "Yang-Chi".

My advise is that for your great health do drink 8 glass of filtered water & drink warm water only.

Indy Water issues boil alert; schools delay start
Equipment failure leads utility to take precautionary step; tests to show if water quality is affected.

By Kevin O'Neal kevin.oneal@indystar.com
January 7, 2005


Equipment failure at an Indianapolis Water treatment station led the utility on Thursday afternoon to advise all customers to boil their drinking water.

That move created complications for residents, restaurants, hospitals and schools and had some people stocking up on bottled water.

The precautionary advisory, which the utility said was not a binding order and not related to flooding, was scheduled to last until about 4 p.m. today.

All Marion County school districts that are on the Indianapolis Water system planned to delay the start of classes by two hours today, and local superintendents scheduled a telephone conference for this morning to decide whether to cancel school, officials said.

The utility late Thursday was trying to find out when it would receive test results that would show whether the water quality had been affected, said spokeswoman Carolyn Mosby-Williams. That information could help schools decide whether to cancel classes.

Indianapolis Public Schools spokeswoman Mary Louise Bewley said the two-hour delay is intended to give schools time to obtain those water test results, expected about 8 a.m. Classes likely will be canceled if the water fails the tests.

In that case, Mosby-Williams said, the boil advisory also would likely be extended.

Mosby-Williams said she knew of no complaints of anyone becoming ill from the water. The water is safe for other uses, such as washing and bathing, she said.

Customers should boil drinking water for three minutes.

Indianapolis Water serves about 1.1 million people and processes an average of 138 million gallons a day. Its service area covers nearly all of Marion County, as well as parts of Morgan, Hendricks, Boone, Hamilton and Hancock counties.

Some school systems in that area, such as Speedway, are not on the Indianapolis Water system.

Mosby-Williams said tests should show whether customers were at risk from increased levels of coliform bacteria, which can cause nausea, cramps and diarrhea. The utility tests about 400 samples daily; additional samples were taken after the equipment failure.

The problem developed around 11 a.m. Thursday at the utility's White River treatment plant on the Near Northside, one of eight treatment facilities in the utility's service area in and around Marion County. A system that supplies the chemicals used to treat the water shut down, forcing the entire plant to shut down, Mosby-Williams said.

The White River plant is the largest of four plants in the utility's system, supplying about 55 percent of the water. When it shut down, there was a loss of water pressure, prompting some complaints from customers.

"We've closed up all the drinking fountains, and we've informed all of our staff and visitors," said Wishard Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Michelle O'Keefe.

"We're using only bottled water in the cafeteria. We will do all of these things until we're notified by the water company." Read More...
Indy Water issues boil alert; schools delay start