Source of Odor in South Salem Water Has Been Isolated

The city says the results confirm that their drinking water is clean, safe to drink, and meets all drinking water requirements.

(SALEM, Ore.) - The City of Salem announced today that laboratory results of water samples taken early this week confirm that the water being supplied to twenty-four homes in south Salem is clean and safe to drink.

Results also indicate that the odors noted last week were associated with a new water main which is no longer in service.

On Thursday, April 3rd, work by a contractor on a water main replacement project in south Salem was stopped when odors were detected at several residences after they were hooked up to the new water main. Samples of the suspect water were taken and sent out for laboratory analysis.

Twenty-four homes had been hooked up to the new water main when the project was stopped. The affected residences were notified of the concern and bottled water was provided to each residence. No other homes were affected.

On Friday, April 4th, in a continuing effort to ensure safe drinking water, the City of Salem reconnected these twenty-four homes to the water main to which they were previously connected. No additional odor conditions have been reported since these reconnections were made.

On Saturday, lab results confirmed that there were trace organic compounds present in the samples that had been taken on Thursday, April 3rd. These compounds were at levels below published health standards, but these chemicals are not normally present in drinking water.

On Monday, April 7th, water samples were taken from each of the twenty-four homes and from the new water main. Results of these tests are as follows:

1) The sample results from the 24 homes found none of the trace organic compounds that were found in the samples taken on Thursday, April 3, 2008, when the new water main was still in service.

2) Samples taken from the new water main show that these compounds are still present.

Homeowners are being contacted individually and provided with the test results of both the original samples taken last Thursday, April 3rd, and the samples from their homes taken on Monday, April 7th. These results confirm that their drinking water is clean, safe to drink, and meets all drinking water requirements.

This project consisted of replacing an older steel water main with a new ductile iron water main and reconnecting homes on Crestview Drive S (south of Madrona Avenue S), Mimosa Street S, and Windgate Street S to the new system.

The cause of the odor is still under investigation. The laboratories have not yet been able to match these trace organic compounds to any profiles in their databases.

"Citizens have been understandably concerned about this and we deeply appreciate their patience." says Peter Fernandez, Interim Public Works Director. "The City is aggressively working to bring this project to a satisfactory conclusion."