As students, faculty and staff began learning of the local
ruptured water main and its resulting precautions, some wondered if
they were already on their way to contracting an intestinal
illness.
“There’s a pretty slim chance that anyone will get
sick. Statistically, one in a million, or a hundred thousand, will
get sick,” said Robert Gunsalus, a professor in the
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics.
Not being aware of the details of Wednesday’s incident,
Gunsalus postulated that the possibility of any student or Westside
resident falling sick was “exceedingly rare.”
Even so, many within the UCLA community are curious as to how
and why the water may have become contaminated in the first
place.
When a pipeline stemming from the Stone Canyon Reservoir
ruptured Wednesday afternoon and water pressure dipped below five
pounds per square inch, the Los Angeles Department of Water and
Power instituted a “boil water” advisory.
Melinda Rho, a manager of regulatory affairs and water quality
for LA DWP, said that when a water system looses pressure, there is
the possibility of “negative pressure,” in which the
pipelines could suck in water from the surrounding soil.
The possibility of water flowing from the soil back into the
pipe at the location of the break or negative pressure sucking
water through pipes can lead to contamination of the water supply,
Rho added.
Currently, city water-quality experts are waiting for
bacteriological test results to determine if any unwanted
substances got into the water.
In addition, crews are adding chlorine residuals and flushing
the system out.
But the possibility of water actually being contaminated is
low.
“Unless there was a broken sewer line nearby, the odds are
really low,” Gunsalus said. Rho added that there is no
evidence of sewage and water comingling and that the system
is essentially intact.
Nevertheless, following state protocol, water-quality experts
placed a “boil water” advisory in place as soon as
water pressure dropped below a standard amount, said Lucia Alvelis,
a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and
Power.
The advisory stipulates that students boil any water they plan
to drink or cook with, wait for one minute, and then let it cool.
The purpose of the measure is to prevent any resident from
ingesting any potentially contaminated water.
The instructions within the advisory basically “apply to
bacteria and viruses that are harmful with the notion that most are
harmless. … It is exceedingly rare that they’ll cause
problems,” Gunsalus said.
The “boil water” advisory also suggests that
residents boil water before brushing their teeth or washing dishes,
but watering plants and doing laundry is safe.
“We’re assuming that if you shower you’re not
going to ingest that water,” Alvelis added, in regards to the
potential harm associated with taking showers.
Water-quality experts add that if all the water samples come
back negative, the advisory should be terminated shortly
thereafter.
Until the results are known, “it’s a good excuse for
drinking coke,” Rho said.
Both city officials and bacteriologists at UCLA agree that the
chances of someone getting a gastrointestinal disease due to the
water is unlikely.
“I think sanitary standards are pretty high here in terms
of other places in the world,” Gunsalus said.
Beyond the “boil water” advisory, those using water
in the affected communities may have noticed other changes.
A chalky quality was prominent in many water supplies this
morning ““ a result of large amounts of air mixing with the
water, Rho said.