Officials: West Palm Beach Water Contaminated with Blue Algae Toxin update- Water Restrictions lifted ((This is Trump's Water Supply))

From the city of WPB website:



DRINKING WATER ADVISORY | May 28, 2021
Post Date:05/28/2021 10:18 PM
Why Is There an Advisory?

Cylindrospermopsin, a toxin produced by cyanobacteria (formerly known as blue-green algae), was detected in the drinking water from the City of West Palm Beach’s Water Treatment Plant on May 20, 2021. Elevated levels of toxins have been detected in the raw water samples collected from the East Lobe of Clear Lake and the finished water at the treatment plant that supplies water to the City of West Palm Beach, Town of Palm Beach and Town of South Palm Beach. The City of West Palm Beach is taking the following actions to reduce cylindrospermopsin levels:

The City has activated its emergency wells to introduce ground water into the surface water supply,
Added powdered activated carbon into the treatment system at the water treatment plant,
Increased free chlorine levels within the final stages of the treatment process, and
Will initiate a switch to a stronger disinfectant on May 29, 2021 that is identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce levels of the toxin.
Samples collected on May 17, 24 and 25, 2021 show cylindrospermopsin in the drinking water at levels, which are above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s cylindrospermopsin national drinking water Health Advisory for the vulnerable populations (listed below) of 0.7 micrograms per liter (µg/L).

What Should I Do?

The following vulnerable populations should Not Drink the tap water, because they may be vulnerable to the effects of cylindrospermopsin:

Infants,
Young children under the age of six,
Pregnant women and nursing mothers,
Those with pre-existing liver conditions,
Those receiving dialysis treatment, and
As a precautionary measure, the elderly and other sensitive populations should consider following these advisory instructions.
Vulnerable populations, listed above, should use alternative sources of water for drinking, making infant formula, making ice and preparing food and beverages.

Animals are also vulnerable to adverse health effects of cylindrospermopsin exposure. Consider providing animals alternative sources of drinking water. Contact a veterinarian if your animals show signs of illness.

Do Not Boil the tap water. Boiling the water will not destroy toxins and may increase the toxin levels.

Individuals not considered to be in the vulnerable category, as listed above, may drink the water.

Everyone may use the tap water for showering, bathing, washing hands, washing dishes, flushing toilets, cleaning and doing laundry. However, infants and young children under the age of six should be supervised while bathing and during other tap water-related activities to prevent accidental ingestion of water.

What is Being Done?
The City of West Palm Beach is working closely with the Florida Department of Health and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and along with the City’s Emergency Operations Center to address the situation and quickly reduce cylindrospermopsin levels in the tap water.

The City of West Palm will post an updated advisory when: The cylindrospermopsin levels are less than or equal to the national drinking water Health Advisories, this Do Not Drink Advisory is lifted and/or if there are any changes to the conditions of this Do Not Drink Advisory.

City of West Palm Beach Establishes POD for Water Delivery to Impacted Residents

The City of West Palm Beach has established a point of distribution (POD) for the distribution of bottled water to any West Palm Beach, Town of Palm Beach, or South Palm Beach resident affected by the drinking water advisory. Impacted residents may pick up a supply of water at the following location during these dates and times:

LOCATION: Gaines Park, 1501 Australian Ave.
DATES/TIMES: May 29-31, 2021 (Sat. – Mon.), 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

[link to www.wpb.org (secure)]

Uh oh.

I’m sensing a fema camp/walliemart distribution center only being open to those vaccinated.

Maybe, maybe not.

Not yet--

But they rang my phone with a recorded message as well as a text about a half hour ago.

What I am upset about is that this was detected *9* days ago.

AND my water was shut off almost all day Wednesday where I live and no one said sh*t about this

We have had water main breaks before and the signs said planned routine maintenance for Wednesday's outage at my condo

Was told, no you don't have to boil the water, just run for like 3-5 minutes and flush the toilets--to be fair, that was from someone who didn't work for the city, but still

Very depressing to live with these lies

And now come to find out there's algae in the water

God Help Us

And to add to the sense of helplessness--

IF YOU BOIL IT, YOU CAN MAKE IT WORSE!

This is not Palm Beach County--

Only West Palm Beach
Town of Palm Beach (where Trump lives, so yes, his water is affected)
and South Palm Beach

The release said if you pay your water bill to the city of West Palm Beach, it's affecting you.

There's a beautiful body of water near I95 at Okeechobee Blvd (conveniently located if you know what I mean)

Called Clear Lake (ironic at the moment) where West Palm Beach draws the drinking water--that's where they are finding this toxin.

So if you're planning on moving to West Palm Beach, better byob of water....

I'm really upset about this because it may be just starting until we can get some rain and flush this poison out...

COVID 19 WATER

What Should I Do?

The following vulnerable populations should Not Drink the tap water, because they may be vulnerable to the effects of cylindrospermopsin:

Infants,
Young children under the age of six,
Pregnant women and nursing mothers,
Those with pre-existing liver conditions,
Those receiving dialysis treatment, and
As a precautionary measure, the elderly and other sensitive populations should consider following these advisory instructions.
Vulnerable populations, listed above, should use alternative sources of water for drinking, making infant formula, making ice and preparing food and beverages.

Animals are also vulnerable to adverse health effects of cylindrospermopsin exposure. Consider providing animals alternative sources of drinking water. Contact a veterinarian if your animals show signs of illness.

Do Not Boil the tap water. Boiling the water will not destroy toxins and may increase the toxin levels.


If you live in Florida, especially on the east coast, you should take notice because this sh*t is likely gonna affect you if not already...imho, like the red tide algae that went up and down the coast a few years ago.

They didn't say that but I wouldn't be surprised given how Covid has been found in sewage all over the place...

and given the mutations we have seen it wouldn't surprise me...

but seriously, a virus is not the same as algae--although who knows what could piggy back on what these days....

[link to www.wptv.com (secure)]

from the news link above


Toxin produced by blue-green algae detected in drinking water

Dr. Poonam Kalkat, Director of Public Utilities for the City of West Palm Beach spoke to WPTV after the city issued a drinking water advisory.


By: T.A. Walker , Monica Magalhaes , Todd WilsonPosted at 10:37 PM, May 28, 2021 and last updated 2:46 PM, May 29, 2021
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The city of West Palm Beach has issued a drinking water advisory.

"If you pay your water bill to the City of West Palm Beach you are affected."
City of West Palm Beach
According to the city, elevated levels of a toxin produced by cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green alspammer shitave been detected in the raw water samples collected from the East Lobe of Clear Lake and the finished water at the treatment plant that supplies water to West Palm Beach, Palm Beach and South Palm Beach.

Palm Beach County drinking water map, green and orange areas bad water serviced by West Palm Beach
Palm Beach County
This map shows the different utility service areas in Palm Beach County. The green area services West Palm Beach and the orange area services Palm Beach.
The City of West Palm Beach information line spokesperson told WPTV NewsChannel 5, "If you pay your water bill to the City of West Palm Beach you are affected."

Recent Stories from wptv.com

Palm Beach County beaches busy for Memorial Day weekend
The following vulnerable populations should not drink the tap water, because they may be vulnerable to the effects of cylindrospermopsin:

Infants
Young children under the age of six
Pregnant women and nursing mothers
Pets
Those with pre-existing liver conditions
Those receiving dialysis treatment, and
As a precautionary measure, the elderly and other sensitive populations should consider following these advisory instructions.
According to the city, all other individuals not considered to be vulnerable may drink the water.

Tap water can be used for showering, bathing, washing hands, dishes, flushing toilets, cleaning and doing laundry.


The city is taking the following actions to reduce toxin levels;

The city has activated its emergency wells to introduce groundwater into the surface water supply
Added powdered activated carbon into the treatment system at the water treatment plant
Increased free chlorine levels within the final stages of the treatment process, and
Will initiate a switch to a stronger disinfectant on May 29 that is identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce levels of the toxin.


Water distribution
[link to twitter.com (secure)]

Last Edited by Bastetcat on 05/29/2021 03:11 PM

I have to go get additional water myself now...sigh

You weren't kidding about having water trouble! Sounds like even distilling at home won't work, if boiling doesn't.

We get algae problems from time to time up here too. Usually from heavy nitrate runoff. It's scary stuff when we depend on our clean water sources.

5*'s Bastetcat. Hang in there my friend.

Lots of info here:
[link to www.palmbeachdailynews.com (secure)]


Town of Palm Beach Advisory:

May 30, 2021 12:13 PM
Town Advises Not to Consume Water Filtered by Home Filtration Systems
The Town has learned from West Palm Beach officials that home water filtration systems SHOULD NOT be relied upon to filter out the toxins caused by blue-green algae found in the drinking water supply. Instead, please secure bottled water for consumption until advised that it is safe to consume tap water. Town staff has coordinated with the management at the Palm Beach Publix to ensure sufficient availability of bottled water in the days ahead.

[link to www.townofpalmbeach.com (secure)]

less than 50% from the article link quoted:

"There are 30 or so cyanobacterial species in fresh water in Florida and many of them are producing multiple toxins, so the people regulating our drinking water are constantly having to be on the lookout for many different kinds of toxins."

This is the first time West Palm Beach has dealt with a cyanobacteria bloom in its drinking water supply, which comes from the Grassy Waters Preserve into Clear Lake before reaching the water treatment plant.

West Palm Beach is one of the few cities that uses surface water for its water supply. It can become vulnerable to algae blooms when lake levels get low and the longer days of summer allow light to penetrate deeper into the water column and initiate photosynthesis in the cyanobacteria.

Brian LaPointe, an algae expert with Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, said surface water supplies are also vulnerable to a flood of nutrients that feed the algae and come from runoff flush with fertilizers or from septic tank leaks.

“We’ve known for years that surface water supplies are more prone to blue-green algae toxin contamination,” LaPointe said Saturday. “Florida cities that rely on lakes and surface waters for water supply need to obviously do their due diligence in monitoring for these toxins that will become more problematic in the future.”

The super gas stations--i.e., WaWa, new Cumberland Farms and RaceTrac often have pallets of water. My Publix was out, so I went to the gas station and picked up 5 cases yesterday. 4.99 for 24 bottles of 16.9 oz.

The scary thing about this is the Clear Lake water source that is vulnerable because of its location adjacent to I-95 and a major thoroughfare--Okeechobee Boulevard.

Also concerning is the stuff they are dumping in the water to try to kill this thing...some kind of carbon and also some kind of super chlorine.

Sunday morning news conference:
[link to www.wptv.com (secure)]
less than 50%
" Everyone can play Monday morning quarterback and it's interesting that we have been receiving those criticisms. Folks said, 'Well you should have let us know sooner,'" Mayor James said. "Even if we had let people know that we were receiving test results that high, it only would have begged the question: what do we do now? Well the answer to that question is what comes out of the advisory which we did not receive until Friday from the department of health. We didn't know, you don't know from the test results which populations are vulnerable. You don't know from the test results whether you should boil water, not boil water. All of the information, the guidance, comes from the department of health and it has to be blessed by them."

120,000 customers of West Palm Beach Public Utilities are affected including customers in the Town of Palm Beach and South Palm Beach.

"I think it's also important to know that this is not a regulated toxin. This is not on the list of toxins that the EPA issues. The city was being proactive by testing for this," Mayor James said.

Last Edited by Bastetcat on 05/30/2021 01:52 PM

:mf_tiny2-pray:

Nothing good happens in Palm Beach Co.

Berkey


[link to youtu.be (secure)]

New and improved water filtration systems will be a great business to invest in .

Trump lives with in Palm Beach, not West Palm Beach. Different cities.

Yep, but Palm Beach gets their water from the city of West Palm Beach.

The Town of Palm Beach residents are shall we say, very annoyed--

Here's a formal letter from the Town of Palm Beach:


[link to palmbeachcivic.org (secure)]

Part of the letter:

The presence of cylindropermopsin (CYN) in the City’s drinking water system is deeply
concerning. I know you share this concern and I’m sure your team at the City is committed to
addressing the contamination of our shared water supply in the near term, as well as into the future.
The purpose of this letter is to express my disappointment with the limited and delayed
communication about the CYN issue with the Town of Palm Beach.
After speaking to our Public Works team yesterday, I learned that we were first notified about the
presence of CYN in the City’s water system on Friday, May 28, 2021, at approximately 4:54 pm,
at which time we were informed that the City’s Water Treatment Plant had received lab results
higher than normal of cyanobacteria in the drinking water. We were also advised that the results
were inclusive of the water supply intake and corrective measures were being taken for treatment.
The City explained that they were working with the Health Department, FDEP, and EPA to
identify the type of toxin, proper steps for treatment, and the effects on the general population. The
City stated the general population affected could be young children under the age of six, pregnant
women and nursing mothers, and those with pre-existing liver conditions but needed additional
information from the lab results and agencies before a formal advisory or notification could be
issued. The Town continued to request information from the City throughout the evening and
received an advisory notice at 10:27 pm, at which time we immediately forwarded to our residents
to advise them of the water quality issue and precautions they should take.

Also, I will try to find the link, but news reports indicate if you boil the water, you are just putting the toxin in the air!

Palm Beach
D*ily
N*ws

links are banned, so you will have to google it

Here's one from WPBF:
[link to www.wpbf.com (secure)]
People in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach and South Palm Beach go on fourth day without clean tap water, after toxic blue-green algae are found in West Palm Beach water treatment plant over the weekend.

Respectfully, I live and work here so I know about the water supply: the roads were torn up about 5-6 years ago as they were installing the pipes and they were lowered into the Intracoastal as Palm Beach is more or less an island--a long one, like a barrier island...

People on Palm Beach island are furious about the fact WPB knew on May 20th and didn't notify anyone in Palm Beach until 4:55PM last Friday.

About 20 schools are impacted as well as restaurants, etc.

Agreed

The problem is, this is something that they don't usually test for and they are saying home filtration systems don't filter it out...

It does seem like the Twilight Zone....

This is a nuisance to deal with, and I haven't been on GLP much the past few days to update or check this thread because I am having to use bottled water to wash and cook with. Due to medical issues in my family, this is a very real threat and I am also upset that for at least 9 days, we were exposed to this toxin.

It makes me wonder what else may be in the water that they aren't testing for, since they said they were being "pro-active" to test for this and it wasn't normally being tested for....

A few years back, the red algae tides were so bad I couldn't go outside my work because it wasn't safe to breathe the airborne toxins.

Some good news, we did get some rain the past few days, but not very much around Clear Lake, the water source for WPB and Palm Beach.

It's a fine line--too much rain like from a hurricane and the red tide toxins come back from all the runoff; the past month it's really been a drought and this blue-green algae starts to develop.

Not to mention the poisons they have to put in the water to kill the toxin and they expect us to consume it...

Clean water is not something to take for granted, sigh...

Right now, I have only seen spot shortages of bottled water but the longer this goes on, who knows?

More about the delay in telling the public:

Apparently they knew something May 3rd


[link to www.cbs12.com (secure)]

From the link:

The City of West Palm Beach announced the advisory on May 29 due to high levels of toxins from blue-green algae detected. The city knew about the presence of the toxins as far back as May 3, when a sample showed levels lower than what would initiate a health advisory.


I am wondering about the Zephyrills water from "Florida springs"--they are giving away---I went out and bought my water and will have to go again and buy more---I have read water in plastic bottles isn't exactly healthy either...

To paraphrase Capital One's slogan---

"What's in Your Water?"

Editing post on Friday, 6/4/2021
The water is safe again to drink, supposedly

Headline from the link below:
West Palm Beach water advisory lifted; all customers can resume drinking tap water
Samples taken June 1-2 showed toxin levels below health advisory limits

[link to www.wptv.com (secure)]