Prison water supply deemed clean after bacteria scare

Maryland Environmental Service (MES) officials have deemed the Eastern Correctional Institution’s water safe to drink and use after the agency initially detected bacteria in the water supply earlier this month.

According to MES officials, two water sampling tests taken this month showed the presence of coliform bacteria, commonly found in fecal matter. The two samples came out of a total of eight tests performed July 1 and 3. Only one test per month is allowed to have positive results, according to MES.

Outside of the E. coli strain of coliform bacteria, most forms of the bacteria are relatively harmless to healthy people, only posing potential issues to those with compromised immune systems, infants and the elderly, according to MES. However, they can be used as an indicator that other pathogenic bacteria are present in the water supply.

The potentially deadly E. coli bacteria was not found during testing, according to MES communications director Chris Garrigan, and MES officials have determined that the positive tests are not a result of a failure of the water supply system.

Five additional tests conducted on July 5 did not show any positive results at any of the four testing sites on facility grounds, which suggested the positive results may have been a result of outside influences such as contamination inside the laboratory testing area, said Garrigan.

“All the equipment was working properly,” said Garrigan, adding the agency checked the chlorine levels, backflow preventers and alarms on the reverse osmosis system in the water supply system.

The prison was cleared to continue to use the water after July 5, but it provide bottled water to inmates on Monday, July 6, as a precautionary measure, according to ECI spokesman Mark Vernarelli.

The prison sent a notice to inmates about the situation, said Garrigan, informing those with compromised immune systems and the elderly there to consult a doctor about what precautions they should take.

Vernarelli added that no inmates nor prison staff suffered members any adverse effects from drinking or using the water.

INSIDE

ECI garden supplies food for needy,

PAGE A4