City officials are taking exception to a state inspection that found city wells vulnerable to contamination, deteriorated water tanks and questionable sampling of the city's water sources.
St. George's water source protection program has been approved by the state, and its springs have been reviewed annually for the past 10 years, said City Manager Gary Esplin."All of a sudden it's an issue," Esplin said. "They never said a word."
The Nov. 3 report by the state Division of Drinking Water was prompted by complaints from residents and public works employees.
The city will not be penalized for the irregularities, said Ken Wilcock, who conducted the inspection for the state.
"What we would hope is just a plan of action would be put together, and they're already doing a lot of these things," Wilcock said. "They're doing disinfection and flushing. We're already seeing good progress. The political pressure to them has been `expand to meet new growth.' "
Wilcock found testing sites had been excluded from sampling in recent months if previous samples were coliform positive.
But city officials say different sites were chosen to prevent skewed results.
"It wasn't an intent to manipulate anything," said Wayne McArthur, city Water and Power Department director. "It definitely was not to cover up any contaminated water problem."
Wilcock also found potential for contamination of several springs in the Sullivan, West Fork and Carter Collection areas.
According to the report, a dead lizard was found floating on the water feeding wells in Sullivan, roots were found growing in a majority of the springs, and an unlocked screen made the Cottonwood Spring, the city's largest producer, vulnerable to contamination.
"That is all an assumption," countered Hank Childers, Quail Creek Water Treatment Plant superintendent. "It takes physical analysis and biological analysis."
An inspection of water tanks showed two were damaged - one with enough deterioration to let rodents and lizards in.
McArthur called the tank items "just some minor maintenance problems we can fix."
No action will be taken against city employees who filed complaints, although there may be some reorganization of the department, Esplin said.