MCCOMB, OH (Toledo News Now) - A meeting on McComb's drinking water quality led to a shouting match between residents and village leaders Tuesday.
Four times now the village has handed out bottled water to residents as a courtesy since the water flowing to peoples' taps is brown. Tuesday, village leaders said there would be no more distribution, as everyone's faucets should be flowing clear.
Last week's village council meeting sparked many questions about the quality of water and the way the village handles EPA violations.
Tuesday, a special meeting was held to answer some of those questions, but things got heated.
"How are we supposed to trust you?" said one resident.
"Do you realize what you have done to this village?" said another.
Frustration over the Village of McComb's water boiled over at the meeting. But despite the tension, some previously submitted questions did get answered, like when and where samples are pulled.
Last week there were concerns that past EPA violations weren't shared with the public when it was required they be informed. That question still remains murky.
"I know that maybe it didn't get reported every time, but those are the things that I've got to look at and see why they didn't get reported. If it's my fault, I got to figure out why they weren't sent out basically," said Village Administrator Kevin Siferd.
But Siferd says EPA violations issued mid-August are being taken care of, specifically five required changes. First, the village says the manganese level is under control.
"We have reported all those results to the EPA and they are happy and pleased with those results," said Siferd.
Second, Siferd says village council members granted $87,000 to fund a filter replacement project.
"Clear down to the piping, so we can visually inspect the underdrains and each filter can be visually inspected to see if they're clogged, working properly, broken, whatever," said Siferd.
The clear well, or water holding tank, was cleaned by a diver last week. Quite a bit of dirt was found, which Siferd says could have contributed to the water issues, as a mixer installed in June to stir the water evenly around the tank pushed up dirt.
"Can't say if for sure that was part of the problem, but it didn't help it," said Siferd.
Lastly, Siferd says a system to control manganese in the raw water from the reservoirs is being looked at by Poggemeyer engineers. And he says they are submitting a plan to the EPA to permanently install a hypochlorite feed system.
Back to the mixer, Siferd says it was installed in the clear well to help with the TTHM levels in the water, which have been part of EPA violations in the past.
Right now, the village is waiting on samples taken August 12 to see if the mixer worked, but Siferd says he is pretty confident it will work.
