Septic tank, or hot tub?

Mark Young filled up his hot tub Thursday morning after fixing a leak, only to be greeted by a thousand litres of what looks more like sewage than tap water.

It’s disgraceful,” he said of the discoloured water. “It makes me very worried about other people and their kids. What about all the schools and their water fountains?”

Young said he and his wife normally drink water from the tap, but have been using bottled water ever since last weekend when the problem with Chatham and Dresden water began. They also now give their three dogs bottled water.

Corine Wagenaar of Paragon Pools was on hand this morning, performing maintenance on the hot tub, and was shocked at how dark and murky the water in the tub is.

“This water is only 30 inches deep,” she said. “I’ve seen country water that’s had a gold tint from iron, but nothing like this.”

Rob Bernardi, acting general manager of the Public Utilities Commission, said a PUC staffer went through the same experience.

“We had a staff member with the same problem with his hot tub. He just ran his filter all night, and the next morning it was clear,”  he said.

The Youngs say they don’t plan on paying for the water used to fill the tub, as they plan to drain it and wait for cleaner water.

Wallaceburg Coun. Jeff Wesley, chair of the PUC, said crews have been flushing the lines by opening fire hydrants at various points around Chatham and Dresden to help clear the discoloured water from the lines.

Bernardi said the discolouration is caused by the quality of the water coming through the intakes on Lake Erie. The lake inversion has led to a great deal of dissolved organic material being suspended in the water.

But he’s quick to point out the water has been treated and filtered, and is safe for use.

“We’ve met all the ministry guidelines. There have been no adverse samples,” he said.

Bernardi said staff are seeing a gradual improvement. He said it’s getting better daily, in the water mains and out on the lake near the water intakes.

He added that the discolouration is worse in some areas and barely noticed in others.

“We still have folks in the Chatham area that haven’t had a discolouration issue. The water that flows in the water main below the road – if you have fewer users on the line, less water moves through the system,” Bernardi said.

Wesley agreed.

“I know they (public works crews) have been going out and flushing the systems, but if it’s an area where there hasn’t been heavy water usage, it will stay in the system longer,” he said. “Everybody’s saying everything’s fine, but I know it doesn’t look the best.”

Bernardi said the discolouration problem isn’t isolated to Chatham-Kent. West Elgin to the east, which also draws its municipal water from Lake Erie, is undergoing same scenario.