Don't Drink the Water, If You Know Not To

The Kent County Water Authority reportedly knew last Friday that a test revealed the existence of E.Coli contamination in the water, but the thousands of residents who could have been sickened by drinking that water weren't alerted until two days later.

KCWA General Manager Tim Brown insists the authority followed all protocals in dealing with the water crisis. The test that initially revealed the potential for coliform — taken on Wednesday, Sept. 18 — came back from the Environmental Protection Agency Friday with a positive result for "total coliform," Brown said. From there, the procedure is to test again and wait for the results before notifying the public. After the authority got confirmation Sunday morning, it sent out fax alerts to some media outlets. There were no phone call or email alerts issued.

The water authority's alert system has been roundly criticized since news of the contamination broke. Coventry Representative Jared R. Nunes is calling on the authority to revamp its notification process. 

“The general manager stated to numerous media outlets that he was well within the 24-hour notification required by law,” Nunes wrote. “However, in absence of a state law requiring notification, common sense must prevail. It is the duty of a public utility to quickly notify its residents of a potential health hazard.”

The water is safe again and customers no longer need to boil water, the authority announced Wednesday. In the aftermath, some have suggested the state should enact the Emergency Broadcast System to alert residents their water may be contaminated. Others have said there should be immediate notification of a bad test.

What do you think? Should water authorities throughout the state notify customers more quickly? Should the state pass legislation regulating notification? How would you notify residents of bad water? Tell us in the comments section below.