Some Cryptic Aspects of the Crypto Outbreak, Part 1

[Edited and updated  8/23/13]
This blog may contain more information about Cryptosporidium than some people want.  If so, skip down to the YouTube videos at the end.  One from Wally Sykes in Wallowa County about a Wolverine, and the other about the activities of the Sheriff in Malheur County.  As usual, if they don't play, click on the title above the video, and it will take you directly to the YouTube video. The previous blog on this subject has also been updated.
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One of the interesting problems associated with the 1993 Milwaukee, WI, Cryptosporidum outbreak, which affected some 400,000 people directly, was that the actual cause was never determined. Those that studied the epidemic could not come to a definitive conclusion as to whether it was caused by dairy cattle or a sewage issue.

Most of us would like to know the primary cause of disease outbreaks that create such damaging effects to people's health and financial well being, so that we can prevent them from happening in the future. This is certainly here in Baker City, where we face large expenditures necessitated by the state and federal drinking water rules, and where economic losses due to sickness and curtailment of business activity have been large. When the cause remains obscure, correcting such a problem efficiently becomes extremely difficult. If we knew for certain that the problem was caused by mountain goats, elk, cows, (and yes, I've heard "sabotage" offered up) or some other specific agent or event, we could zero in on effective solutions that might save us millions of dollars that would otherwise be directed at prevention associated with unknown causes and for unknown reasons.

As of now, given the available information, the cause of our Crypto outbreak remains a mystery.

I have tried this week to get information from the County Health Department and the Oregon Health Authority about what kinds of tests have been performed on what types of samples in order to help people understand more about the actual cause of our waterborne Cryptosporidium outbreak. Information is hard to come by, at least for me, although it appears that mountain goats are no longer a suspect. Yesterday morning, Alicia Hills from our County Public Health Department, was able to reveal that the tests on mountain goat scat were negative for Cryptosporidium. That, coupled with few crypto oocysts in Goodrich Reservoir, tends to count them out as a significant contributor to any crypto load in the watershed.

Here is the crux of my problem as a citizen blogger trying to get current relevant information: On July 16, 2013, I asked the Oregon Health authority (OHA) for information about a different potential health problem. As of today, they have not answered my questions.

Yesterday I left a message to an OHA person concerning our crypto outbreak, and what kinds of tests have been performed on what types of samples, because the intermediate contact allowed me to leave them a message. I had asked them the same questions on Tuesday. I have not received a return call. I was not able to talk to a person even remotely connected to the Crypto outbreak study until today, and he promised to try to find answers to the questions I asked from some unknown person who is supposed to have some idea about what is going on. Additionally, the state drinking authority contact that used to respond to my questions has gone silent [Seems to be back today! 8/23/13]. Apparently, I'm not a preferred provider of information to the public. If history is a guide. . . .

The city though, has in some cases been responsive (I'm grateful), but trying to get information on the current costs of UV treatment vs filtration remains frustrating, even though people are forming opinions on the choice we should make without adequate information about the current costs to be borne in the long term. Once people commit to an opinion, positions tend to harden, and some will try to defend their opinion regardless of new information. That is why Herald editorials and Herald opinion polls in the middle of a crisis, before adequate information is provided, do not serve the public well. It can though be an effective strategy for advancing a position without regard to the financial welfare of the community.

For review, here are the figures for treatment options from November 22, 2009 (Capital is essentially the cost of the plant, "$M" stands for MILLIONS of dollars, O and M stands for yearly Operation and Maintenance [multiply by $1,000 so 332 means $332,000 yearly O and M costs]):

Table 2. Cost Opinion for LT2ESWTR Compliance Options

Compliance Option          Capital ($M)        O and M ($1,000/yr)            Present Worth ($M)

UV                                         2.3                       13                                           2.5

Ozone                                   4.8                         89                                          5.8

Chlorine Dioxide                    12.7                       74                                          13.6

Membrane Filtration              17.7                       332                                         21.5

Notes:

1. Capital Cost includes Engineering and Services During Construction

2. Oxone and Chlorine Dioxide costs from Formation and Control of DBPs in Drinking

Water, AWWA 1999. Chlorine Dioxide costs include 12-MG contact tank.

3. UV Costs from UV Disinfection Costs for Inactivating Cryptosporidium, JAWWA June

2001

4. Costs updated to June 2009 dollars using ENR 20-city average construction cost index

Assumptions:

Average Annual Flow = 4 mgd

Plant Capacity = 12 mgd

Discount (interest) rate = 6%

Amortization Period = 20 yrs

Engineering and Services During Construction = 25%

Contingency on Capital Costs = 30%

The information available from 2009, as well as the information provided below, would indicate that committing to filtration at this point is ill advised.

Getting back to the cryptic aspects of the crypto outbreak: what kinds of tests have been performed on what types of fecal material and water samples, so that we can understand more about the actual cause of our waterborne Cryptosporidium outbreak? Alicia Hills said that the only test result she had was the negative test for Cryptosporidium in mountain goat scat, and that she did not know what all the samples taken consisted of. She did not know whether the cattle fecal material found near the Elk Creek water supply intake had been tested. After all, no one was aware, or at least admitting, that cattle had been in the watershed until after I asked first Mike Kee, and then Clair Button, to go with me to investigate on August 12--a request that resulted in our August 19th trip to Elk Creek. Given the washed out condition of some of the more recent cattle fecal material found on that date, it is conceivable that some of it was present prior to the August 1 rain event. No one I've talked to thus far has been able to answer the question of whether they have tested the more recent fecal material from cattle in the watershed, and those who should know have not returned my calls.

Without that information, it all remains a mystery.

So I get to poke around the edges in the dark because the state is not responsive. I hate to resort to public records requests, but may have to.

Two Cow Pies up on trail to the east of the water supply diversion at Elk Creek.  They look older than a week, but less than two months old. If modern science can radiocarbon date a dinosaur bone that is millions of years old, one might expect that they can date a cow pie of recent origin?  Maybe it isn't sensitive enough for that.

One can though, do research on the published scientific findings from studies published on the internet. Reading through the findings may be challenging for some, but I encourage everyone to do so. It is not entertainment unless you have a fondness for facts, but it can be enlightening. Here are some of those findings (Direct quotations are in italics with underlining added, all misunderstandings obviously my own):

1)  From Genotyping Cryptosporidium from water to source track fecal contaminationin agricultural watersheds from a Thesis by Norma Jean Ruecker, UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY, JANUARY, 2013. (I rely on this first because it is recent and incorporates information from many previous studies.)

• Species originating from wildlife represented a low risk to human health. 
• Molecular tools exist for effective molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium oocysts in water so as to identify host sources and individual species or genotypes (paraphrased). It is ... important that the molecular tools used for characterizing human isolates are capable of detecting all known species/genotypes of Cryptosporidium. In other words, the ability exists to make decisions about the probable cause of a crypto outbreak, and to differentiate between pathogenic and non pathogenic species and genotypes of Cryptosporidium in your water supply and in fecal samples tested.
• Ultimately, these approaches can be used to characterize sources of fecal pollution in the environment and aid in the development of mitigation strategies focused on reducing the burden of Cryptosporidium in drinking water sources in an effort to protect public health.
• A thorough review of the published surveys of Cryptosporidium in cattle reported prevalence ranges from 0 to 100% with typically higher rates in younger animals compared to older ones.
• With C. parvum being the only cattle-associated species which has been demonstrated to be a significant zoonotic risk to humans [a human pathogen--cause of disease in humans], the knowledge of age dependent prevalence challenges the current understanding of the risk that cattle associated Cryptosporidium spp. pose to public health.
• As C. parvum has been detected in all the major livestock species, it poses the greatest risk for zoonotic transmission to humans. Pre-weaned calves are considered the major animal host for C. parvum and the most likely source of zoonotic cryptosporidiosis. [Although Cryptosporidium parvum does exist in weaned calves. Chris]
• recently as many as 25 species and close to 50 genotypes [of Cryptosporidium] have been described. This information provides a solid framework for assessing public health risks and also allows tracking of the host sources associated with Cryptosporidium contamination in the
  environment.
• The species of high risk to human health were present in only 1.2% of the samples analyzed. This knowledge challenges the LT2ESWTR regulation in the US by providing evidence that the regulation may be overprotective, leading, in some cases, to unnecessary capital expenditures for water utilities. Of the 25 species and ~50 genotypes of Cryptosporidium described, only 2 species, C. hominis and C. parvum, account for 95% of human clinical infections. Only a few other Cryptosporidium species and genotypes account for all other clinical infections in humans. This study demonstrates that although 45% of all the water samples analyzed had Cryptosporidium oocysts detected, only 17% of the samples had species or genotypes detected which have been associated with human infections. Species of Cryptosporidium that are considered to be of high risk to humans: C. hominis and C. parvum. Two others are medium risk and three are low risk. The rest are considered no risk.
• sustained viability [of crypto oocysts] is dependent upon the environmental conditions they are exposed to (i.e., solar UV inactivation, dessication, fermentation). [I would add freezing--see later citation]
• It is a conclusion of this thesis that until improved and more accurate models can be developed, Cryptosporidium monitoring including genotyping is the only reliable way to assess parasite loading in surface water. 
• Hazard identification is considered the central element, or foundational basis, of the risk assessment framework from which the other components are derived. . . . .Simply put, not all Cryptosporidium parasites observed in water are infectious to humans. Even when considering those that are hazardous to humans, a relative level of risk exists (i.e., high, medium, low).
• detection and subsequent molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium oocysts in water can be used to infer potential host sources of fecal pollution impacting water quality within a watershed, an extremely important part of the risk mitigation element of the risk assessment framework. Identifying the sources of pollution contributing to the Cryptosporidium burden allows for the development of watershed protection strategies designed to reduce or mitigate these environmental burdens.
  
• data presented in this thesis suggests that wildlife appear to represent little risk to public health in the development of cryptosporidiosis in humans. In this context, management of wildlife may not be necessary or worthwhile in terms of risk mitigation for some drinking water systems.
• the Water Research Foundation (financially supported by water utility subscribers) initiated a request for proposals entitled: “Selecting and Standardizing the Most Appropriate Cryptosporidium Genotyping Tool for Regulatory Compliance Monitoring”, in 2009, with the intent of developing a validated Cryptosporidium genotyping tool suitable for inclusion into the regulatory water quality monitoring frameworks of the USEPA (LT2ESWTR)
• Regulators of the water industry are likely to remain risk adverse and therefore moving forward, municipal water utilities will continue to challenge regulation through the use of applied science. This will be driven by the need for municipalities to balance fiscal responsibility with public health safety.

2) Giardia Cyst and Cryptosporidium Oocyst Survival in Water, Soil, and Cattle Feces

• Cryptosporidium oocysts were more environmentally resistant. At −4 and 4°C, the oocysts could survive in water and soil for 12 wk but degradation was accelerated at 25°C. Cryptosporidium oocysts also were degraded more rapidly in feces and in soil containing natural microorganisms. [Crypto oocysts survive for over three months in water at 24.8 and 39.2 degrees fahrenheit, as might be expected in frozen and unfrozen water, and under a blanket of snow. Most microorganisms are not going to be very active at 24.8 degrees and so will not be degrading crypto oocysts.]

3) Effects of Low Temperatures on Viability of Cryptosporidium parvum Oocysts

• All mice that received oocysts frozen at -10 [degrees] C   [14 degrees fahrenheit] for 8, 24, and 168 h and those that received oocysts stored at 5 [degrees] C for 168 h had developmental-stage parasites. These findings  demonstrate for the first time that oocysts of C. parvum in water can retain viability and infectivity after freezing and that oocysts survive longer at higher freezing temperatures. [This implies that oocysts may survive at 14 degrees F for some time]
  
  
• In nature, survival of oocysts might be extended beyond the times observed in the present study when water containing minerals or organic material is frozen or when oocysts are frozen at temperatures above -10 [degrees]C  [14 degrees fahrenheit]. Such conditions might be found in areas where, after ground temperatures fall to just below freezing, a layer of snow insulates that surface from much colder air temperatures, enabling oocysts to survive perhaps for weeks or months.

4) Selection and Application of Microbial Source Tracking Tools For Water-Quality Investigations

Cryptosporidium oocysts: 

• Can remain viable for greater than 6 months at 20 degrees Celsius in water (Fayer and others, 2000. 
• In three environmental freshwaters, 0.1% survival over 10 weeks at 25 degrees and higher rates of survival at 4 degrees (Simmons and Sobsey, 2002). 
• Survival and infectivity in freshwater detected after more than 12 weeks (Olson and others 1999).

5) Surface Water Quality--Overland and Near-Surface Transport of Cryptosporidium parvum from Vegetated and Nonvegetated Surfaces

• Livestock, both open range and those in concentrated animal facilities, have been associated with high concentrations of C. parvum. . . . . Infected animals can pass as many as 10 billion oocysts per gram of feces, and a small number of infected animals can produce enough oocysts to potentially contaminate a large water source. [This goes a long way toward explaining how a small amount of infected fecal material from an infected calf in a water supply could contaminate the water around, say, a water supply intake in a small creek.]

6) Cryptosporidiosis of Livestock

• C. parvum, C. andersoni, C. canis, C. felis, C. hominis, and C. suis, have been reported in human infections. [The vast majority by C. parvum and C. hominis]
. . . in order to accurately assess the risk that livestock might pose to humans, molecular-based prevalence studies are necessary. Such studies could help to identify potential source of these organisms causing human infection, and lead to improved control strategies. Greater understanding of the species and genotypes present in animals and the patterns of transmission can improve our ability to control these infections will hopefully result in significant benefits to society in terms of both animal and human health.

7)  Concentrations of Pathogens and Indicators in Animal Feces in the Sydney Watershed

• Pathogen and fecal indicator concentrations were generally higher in domestic animal feces than in wildlife feces. Future studies to quantify potential pathogen risks in drinking-water watersheds should thus focus on quantifying pathogen loads from domestic animals and livestock rather than wildlife.

Lastly: On Cryptosporidium detection limits:

8)  Effects of Time and Watershed Characteristics on the Concentration of Cryptosporidium Oocysts in River Water

• . . .  the detection limit of the analytical method, about 0.1 oocysts per liter; . . . .  

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Wallowa Wolverine

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Corrupt Cops Caught by Their Own Cruiser Camera!!!

AP Article on Incident:

Flight recorders found in deadly UPS plane crash

Sheriff says FBI to probe activist traffic stop

Published: August 14, 2013

By JEFF BARNARD — Associated Press

GRANTS PASS, Ore. —

. . . .

"We are sending all information and recordings that we have (to the FBI) and they will look at it," Sheriff

Brian E. Wolfe told The Associated Press in an email.

"I want to make sure nothing was done wrong," he said.

. . . .

Wolfe acknowledged that two deputies, acting on orders from a supervisor, pulled over Steve Hindi, . . . .

Wolfe said there was no traffic violation or evidence of any other crime.

Deputy Brian Belnap and Deputy Brian Beck were on duty and following orders from their supervisor, Lt. Rob Hunsucker, Wolfe said. There was no probable cause a crime or traffic violation had been committed.

No one has been disciplined or placed on leave, he said.

. . . .

Old and New Cow Pies Found Near Elk Creek Intake of Baker City Watershed.

[Edited 8/20&22/13]

Councilors Dennis Dorrah and Clair Button allowed me to go with them on a ground survey of the Elk Creek drainage portion of the Baker City Watershed today. The water supply just above the Elk Creek diversion is where the 913 crypto oocysts turned up in a ten liter sample taken on August 4, 2013. I had wanted to look things over since the water supply intake is very close to a cattle allotment fence on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, and I had raised the idea that, because of that fact, cows had emerged as a suspect in the mystery concerning the source of Baker City's recent Cryptosporidium outbreak. See: New Suspects in Baker City Cryptosporidium Case?

 This cow and her calf were just inside the gate that keeps vehicles out of the watershed, a hundred yards or two from the diversion, but presently outside the rickety old watershed fence. We were told they were not supposed to be in this pasture until September, and even though the permittee fixed a hole in the fence last week three cows and their calves are still here next to the watershed fence.

Cows are a well known carrier of crypto (as opposed to say, ex-Councilor Sam Bass, who is not a known carrier of crypto, despite what you might hear), but as Dennis Dorrah commented to myself and Clair Button today (paraphrasing), the city doesn't seem to be taking cows seriously. Jake Jones, who takes care of the watershed, told us today that 6 cows (3 cow/calf pairs) had been found inside the watershed last week. He said he contacted the rancher who came and retrieved them, and also repaired a hole in the fence. I had been previously assured that cattle entry was infrequent and I believe we were told the same today. I will cover more of this issue later on the blog. 

Councilor Clair Button knows cows. Clair is not just a botanist--in his career job with the BLM he was also called upon at least occasionally to ride herd on ranchers and their cows, which can be a pretty difficult job, given the local politics in cow-raising counties with public land grazing allotments.  I know cows too. I've been  watching them be in the wrong place at the wrong time for 30 some years in my travels throughout the West, and in monitoring grazing damage in western streams.  I spent about ten years nearly alone watching them be in the wrong place at the wrong time over on the Malheur National Forest while I spent my retirement money mostly volunteering by myself and then for the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) on a few different grazing lawsuits whose central issue was grazing damage to public resources. ONDA recently won $1.25 million dollars in fees for a lawsuit that I spent several years of my life working on. I think it is fair to say, that because I did the major portion of the monitoring, data collection, and laborious report making, which was accepted by the courts, that I too, know a bit about grazing. (Don't worry about me getting lifted out of poverty, ONDA hasn't offered me a nickel of the settlement so that I could help continue that work.) Dennis too, has spent his life in Oregon. He knows a cow pie from an apple pie too, and he saw a lot of the former today.  I'm betting you know the difference as well, but does the city staff?  Of course they do!  They know these hills and the watershed better than I do, but politics, denial and job security are powerful forces to be reckoned with.

OK, so we all know something about cows and cow pies, and today we found not just cow pies in the watershed, we found new cow pies and old cow pies--those of recent trespass, and those from last year and perhaps before. 

This photo shows the two Councilors and watershed personnel inspecting the Elkhorn Creek diversion to the Baker City water supply inside the Baker City watershed.  In the foreground are three, possibly cryptosporidium laden, droppings from a recent visit by cows who are not supposed to be in the watershed. The watershed, after all, is protected by an old rickety fence, the rancher/permittee, the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, and city personnel.

A little later, Councilors Dorrah, Button, and I, hiked overland (trail-less) across the diversion and up the steep slopes of the watershed to the west.  They hiked up the steep slopes like a pair of mountain goats, and even though Councilor Dorrah is five years older than I, a few weeks old blister on the ball of my foot got re-aggravated, so I wimped out and returned to where I wanted to be anyway, the area where we had seen the cow sign previously. I was  glad it happened as we were able to document more of the problem area between the two parties. They eventually came back around, after an arduous hike, to the spring we had noticed earlier as we viewed things on the east side from the west side above the creek. When I came back down, I was able to inspect the trails I had seen earlier going up near the east side of Elk Creek.

We all saw limited quantities of elk and deer droppings well dispersed in the watershed and Clair saw fresh elk droppings at "two sedge bog springs very close to the stream that were getting significant elk use, and water from the bogs definitely drained into the stream." Cow pies were seen by Dennis and Clair up the slope below a spring and the road overlooking the diversion, and I found them on the trail near the creek above the diversion. I documented cow pies and cow trails from the area around the diversion on upstream for about 1/4 to 1/3 mile. Cow pies (scat, droppings), most, but not all, from earlier years, were a common sight.

Fairly fresh cow leavings on cow trail heading upstream within the watershed from the area about 50 feet east of the Elk Creek diversion.

As I went up the trail on the east side of Elk Creek I found numerous cow pies, most from previous years but two from the current year.  About 1/4 to 1/3 mile upstream I came to an area that was open to cows that led down to the creek. There was an eroded cow trail evident, and at the bottom were pieces of cow pies from last year or previous, that had washed down within about 15 feet from the creek. I followed and filmed and found this: a washed-out cow pie, probably from last fall,  as well as a companion a few yards north, sitting on the bank just above the creek.

One of the older cow pies found on the trail above the Elk Creek diversion

Lower portion of eroding cow trail leading down to Elk Creek

Cow Pie within high water level of Elk Creek, about 1/4 to 1/3 mile above diversion in watershed. It sits on current bank above Elk Creek. It is the gray blob in the right hand portion of the photo, with Elk Creek flowing just below to the left in photo.  There is another cow pie situated similarly on the bank just above the current flow level of the creek about 3 to 4 feet upstream. This is well within the high water level of the creek and could also be affected by other high precipitation events, such as the one in mid-June, where the possibility exists for runoff into Elk Creek.  Runoff from the many other cow pies noted could also possibly affect crypto levels within this Baker City water supply drainage. [I checked my own records, and there was a significant precipitation event on June 19, followed by others of lesser quantities. A city staff person had mentioned mid-July, but weather service records do not show one occurring then. Edited 8/22/13.]

I will add more information and evidence later, either under this particular blog title, or under a new rewritten blog. 

There is much more to think about concerning our small community's safe water future, not the least of which is the high initial cost and yearly maintenance costs of filtration as opposed to the much lower initial cost and yearly maintenance costs of UV treatment. Also for consideration--are we going to protect our watershed from cows, or are we going to be cowed by powerful interests?

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YouTube Videos from the August 8, 2013 Special Baker City public meeting on Cryptosporidium outbreak

[Editted 8/13/13]  Below are the YouTube Videos from the August 8, 2013 Special Baker City public meeting on the Cryptosporidium outbreak. If you have already viewed some of them on YouTube, please note that I have attempted to renumber them according to their order of occurrence at the meeting. I have finally been able to find the time to process, describe, tag, and upload them all (very time consuming). Again, these videos were taken with poor stage lighting and with no additional illumination, but they are generally acceptable for viewing and the sound is OK if you set your computer to full volume. They are best viewed on YouTube. To watch on YouTube you can click on the title link for the segment. The YouTube embed feature wasn't working for me earlier and the images create a long blog download for people with limited connection speeds, so I've only used two embedded video.

Sometimes the most interesting comes last, so you might want to view the last segment first.
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Baker City Crypto Meeting Part 1: Intro, Baker City, OR 080813
 
Mayor Langrell opened and explained the nature of the meeting before turning it over to City manager Mike Kee who presented the agenda and provided a summary timeline that was similar to the information in his August 2, 2013 Weekly Update. He also provided the results of the Cryptosporidium tests that have occurred during the Crypto "crisis."
Somewhat dim and grainy due to low light on Baker City High School auditorium stage but best video possible under the conditions.

Baker City Crypto Meeting Part 2 Alicia Hills, from the Baker County Health Department 

Alicia Hills, from the Baker County Health Department, spoke about the 15 confirmed Crypto cases and the "About Cryptosporidiosis" flyer that has been made available to residents and visitors which lists recommendations and suggestions for staying safe during Baker City's Crypto crisis
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Baker City Crypto Meeting Part 3: Michelle Owen's Report 080813 

Michelle Owen, Baker City's Public Works Director, adds details to Cryptosporidium timeline and offers additional information at the Baker City Crypto Meeting 080813.
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Baker City Crypto Meeting Part 4: Heidi Dalton Discusses Pool Safety and Reasons for Pool Closure

Heidi Dalton explains the rationale behind the decision to keep the Sam-O-Swim pool facility closed, i.e., the risks spreading Cryptosporidium infection by keeping it open were too high. They will do the usual September maintenance during the current closure period.
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Baker City Crypto Meeting Part 5: Bill Goss Talks About Boil Water Order in Baker City 080813

 In talk to residents about the Boil Water Order issued for Baker City. OR, Bill Goss from the Drinking Water Program at the Oregon Health Authority says that "No one is to be blamed for this event" and that "It's going to take a bit of time to really figure out exactly what happened and how to resolve it.."  In order for the state issued boil water order to be lifted, he said "We would need two consecutive samples from each of the drainage intakes that are in use, and also two consecutive samples that show no oocysts from the three locations in the distribution system. So we're looking for water with zero detections of of Cryptosporidium (Crypto).

He also says the state and city will develop an ongoing monitoring program for Cryptosporidium. [Crypto had been found in small numbers during required monitoring back in 2010-2011, but the city quit monitoring for Crypto in 2011 because they were no longer required to do so.--Chris]

He talked about the fact that approved treatments (including UV and filtration) would remove 99.9% of Crypto oocysts but that treatments do not "completely eliminate the risk of exposure" but does meet drinking water standards. While talking about what people can do to be safe, he reiterated that ". . . There is no way to completely eliminate the risk of exposure to this parasite" and said that "Boiling is the only way to kill all Cryptosporidium cysts."
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Baker City Crypto Meeting Part 6: Michelle Owen Talks About Water Treatment Solutions 080813 

Baker City Public Works Director Michelle Owen speaks to residents about several proposed solutions for providing safe drinking water for Baker City, Oregon during a public meeting. These include Long-term, Mid-term, and Short-term solutions.

Long-term:  The city is moving forward with an expedited schedule for installing the UV water treatment facility to remove 99.9% of Cryptosporidium oocysts from our water.  This plan meets current standards and was approved by the state of Oregon.

Mid-term:  Drilling or acquiring supplementary wells for additional water sources to meet contingencies. Well water is normally free of Cryptosporidium and would provide clean additional back-up water that would be helpful in emergencies.

Short-term:  People can by home filtration systems to provide additional safety, currently and in the future. Additionally, the city is contemplating borrowing portable membrane or UV filtration systems to treat sizable quantities of water to provide for citizens until the current emergency situation is resolved.
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Baker City Crypto Meeting Part 7: Brian Black of HDR Talks About UV Treatment Facility 080813 

Brian Black of HDR Engineering told the audience at the special Baker City meeting on the Cryptosporidium outbreak about the accelerated schedule for installing the already planned UV treatment facility for the Baker City drinking water supply. He noted that due to the accelerated schedule, decisions have to be made rather quickly by both the state and the city so that things can get going in August (this month).

The schedule consists of:
- Have design completed and "have construction contractors bid on the work in early spring--march of next year."
- Have UV plant "under construction in the summer."
- "facility would be ready for operation in the summer of 2015."
- Will work with city to attempt to "get the entire project completed before these dates.
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Baker City Crypto Meeting Part 8:; Q and A Segment 1; 080813

1st segment of a long question and answer period at the Baker City Cryptosporidium Meeting, 

This segment begins with a statement By Public Works Director Michelle Owen that we do not have the money available to pay for accelerated construction of the UV treatment plan. [Remember that our City Councils have been piddling away available dollars on underground utilities for the businesses on Resort Street, the Scenic Vista water tanks, the golf course, and etc. -- Chris]

Mayor Richard Langrell asks questions derived from the written questions residents had turned in at the beginning of the meeting. He says the number one question is "What is the city planning to do to compensate for hospital stays, loss of work, or damages done to businesses. . . ." City Manager Kee stated that is is a "Council Decision" and discusses insurance issues. He says that ". . .insurance won't accept claims for interruption of business or emergency room business. . . ."

There were questions about communication issues like the reverse 911 system to notify citizens about the presence of Crypto in the water. Mike Kee said that the system allowed them to "reach 58%" of people registered in the system, and Michelle owen said that folks can sign up at Baker911.org.

Councilor Mosier asked whether we were likely to reach the zero oocysts in the water requirement given that "most often some oocysts exist in the system." Bill Goss from the OHA Drinking Water Program essentially says that it may take a considerable amount of time to reach the zero oocyst requirement, although the 2010-2011 testing met that requirement most of the time. Mike Kee comments on difficulties and that the city will submit a plan to the Oregon Health Authority. Mayor Langrell addresses questions about city water quality testing and explains that they had continued testing, but not for Cryptosporidium [after required testing ended in 2011]. He explains that the city is going to look at getting UV "online a little quicker."

And more. . . . 
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Baker City Crypto Meeting Part 9 Q and A Segment 2; 080813

This is the second segment of questions and answers before Mayor Langrell opens up live questioning from the assembled residents at the Baker City meeting on the Cryptosporidium outbreak.

In response to a question from Councilor Button, Bill Goss of the Oregon Health Authority Drinking Water Program states that actual valid crypto testing recovery rates vary between 13 to 111 percent--". . . the results frankly have a pretty big margin of error, so you might find one or two cysts by the tests method, but there could be quite a few more that were not detected. That's one reason why we're also looking for zero in the samples, because even at zero, there could be one or two cysts that didn't get detected. . . ."

Mayor Langrell then talks about economic damage to the community and some rumors he's encountered about the mountain goats in the vicinity of Goodrich Reservoir.
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Baker City Crypto Meeting Part 10 Q and A Segment 3; 080813

Residents at the Cryptosporidium Baker City meeting ask questions to city staff and Councilors. If the questions aren't in quotes they are paraphrased.

Jennifer Johnson: Asked "How are you going to assure our children are safe?"

Jim Thomas: Wanted to know why the city hasn't done anything about installing treatment sice they have known about it since at least December 2009 and why it hasn't been important enough to get something done "before suddenly we've got people sick." Also wondered "how prepared is this city to deal with a lawsuit?"

Milo Pope, lawyer, retired Judge and former City Councilor:  Asked why, if his statement of facts is true, which included that our engineering firm, HDR, had recommended to install UV treatment to handle drinking water disinfection, that in in Council votes, the Council majority, led by Dennis Dorrah and Roger Coles, had previously always voted against installing it.
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Baker City Crypto Meeting Part 11 Q and A Segment 4; 080813
Residents at the Cryptosporidium Baker City meeting ask questions to city staff and Councilors.

Residents asking questions if I could hear or understand what they said were:
[again, questions paraphrased]

Linda Ross: Asks what significance is attached to finding 913 oocysts at the Elkhorn Diversion to the water supply

Ed Shorts asked additional questions on the life cycle and life span of Cryptosporidium in or out of the water, and Bill Goss and Mayor Langrell answer.

Vernon Hull asks questions about a seeming delay in the County Health Department notifying the City.

Mel Conaway wanted to know how Crypo in the water affects garden produce and fruit trees and if any precautions need to be taken.

City Planning Commissioner Wayne Wall Stated that "As a community, I think we're looking for somebody to say "Yeah, it's our fault. I think we are looking for some kind of culpability." He also noted the length of time we've been aware of the problem and need, and asked--"Why didn't we have a filtration system in place so that we don't have to deal with this?"

Stephanie shared that she and members of her family had been sick for several weeks but didn't go to the hospital because she couldn't afford the insurance co-pay. She asked "If the city knew about it, . . . why was the city not taking the proper precautions. . . to prevent this type of thing." She knew hundreds of people who were ill. "Why weren't you trying to prevent it--Be a little bit pro-active."

Len (or Glen?) Green had questions about calls to Alicia Hills and due diligence at County Health about the actual numbers of people that are ill. Alicia Hills explained efforts they are taking. He also asked "How many samples do you take weekly and at how many intakes?" Jake Jones answers the questions. Mr. Green also asked about whether there will be continuing monitoring for Cryptosporidium now and Bill Goss, from the Oregon Health Authority Drinking Water Program, explained that we are in the process now of developing a sampling schedule for Cryptosporidium that will last until treatment is operational.
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Baker City Crypto Meeting Part 12;  Q and A Segment 5; 080813
Residents at the Cryptosporidium Baker City meeting ask questions to city staff and Councilors.

Names of residents asking questions, if I could hear or understand what they said, were
[again, questions paraphrased]:

Jason from Water Works in La Grande: Talks about some affordable certified household water filters and mentions that Water Works also drills and works on wells.

Sarah Pelcha wanted to know what people can do to [clean and disinfect] once it is already in their home.

Michelle had questions about how crypto can be spread person to person. She mentioned that Elkhorn Drilling is a local well driller.

Judith Head asked "Is this a crisis?" "What can we do about it now?" She shared that she had been sick for three weeks and wanted to know if she could be reinfected. She told the audience that 6 pills for treatment of Cryptosporidiosis cost $164.00 and that her insurance only paid up $57.00.

Answers were provided by Alicia Hills from the County Health Department, Mayor Langrell and City Staff.
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Baker City Crypto Meeting Part 13  Q and A Segment 6; 080813
Residents at the Cryptosporidium Baker City meeting ask questions to city staff and Councilors.

Names of residents asking questions, if I could hear or understand what they said, were
[again, questions paraphrased]:

Alicia Hills addresses last question from Judith Head at the end of last video.

An unidentified woman from the audience asked County Health Department what do you do if we have it. . . tell us to go to the doctor and get pills we can't afford because we don't have money. . . .

Another unidentified woman from the audience asks about help from the state and Governor.

An unidentified woman from the audience again brought up that some people can't afford to go to the doctor or pay for medication, and asked what do you do then? Mike Kee responded that the pills don't do any good unless the patient is compromised. Mayor Langrell offers that the hospital is basically telling people to go home and are treating it a lot like they would the flue [if the patient is otherwise healthy I presume].

Others in the audience had questions about the health safety of children at school. One asked "How are we going to make sure that the children don't have it before they go to school?"

Sam Bass made a statement that the city staff :had been working their butts off" and "Some little bug comes along, slips in, 14 people get sick, and the whole town panics." He noted that he drinks the water, 6 glasses a day, and he doesn't have any problem.

Councilor Downing spoke about the people he had knowledge of and about the existence of other diseases in town that also cause health issues. He noted that while he sympathized with people who had become ill from Crypto, "We need to remember. . . that we need to treat this just like any other flu epidemic, any other cold epidemic, especially with the kids going to school. . . ." like his.

Linda Wall shared that she had gotten sick and asked the audience how many had experienced Crypto symptoms. She indicated after the meeting that her estimate of hands raised was between one quarter and one third.

Jeff Strom, asked several questions about UV treatment and also about effective portable water purification systems in town and in businesses and markets, that the state had shut down. Also on budget issues. He noted that previous Council should have  been taking the initiative and been requiring Crypto testing of the water. Bill Goss responds that the state was being overly cautious due to the situation. Mayor Langrell agreed and said that now there would be some serious crypto testing. The Mayor noted that after working with the state about disposing off our sewage affluent, the state has changed their mind about how to proceed.

A state Department of Agriculture representative, the department that regulates the grocery stores and food processors, explained that out of an abundance of caution they had decided to shut down some of the water filtration filters used by business. They had spoken with Safeway and in a joint decision on the side of safety ("they would rather be safe than sorry") they decided to take the actions they did. She said that she was not aware of whether the water bottling stations in those facilities (I think Jeff was referring to portable water filtration machines like Glacier Water and Sterilox) are safe or not.

Another unidentified woman in the audience complimented the city on providing clean fresh water for the public.
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Baker City Crypto Meeting Part 14 Q and A Segment 7; 080813

Last segment. Residents at the Cryptosporidium Baker City meeting ask questions to city staff and Councilors.

Mike Kee speaks to the safety of Baker City Restaurants and says the inspector says all of our restaurants are safe.

A woman who spoke so fast I couldn't understand her name asked Councilor Coles why "back in 2001 you knew that there was Crypto in Baker City water, and you and Mr. Dorrah in particular, were adamant about asking for a variance from the state, and otherwise we would potentially already have the UV plant on line now."

Mr. Coles responded that he doesn't believe "that UV is the total answer, and that has pretty much been said. 99.9%, I just don't buy into it. There was really no support for filtration. Really filtration is the end result down the road, and the other reason is that I won't rubber-stamp just because staff sends something across the desk--I won't do it--and I'm not going to jump on the first wagon in town. Now just this week we have found out, there is (sic) some comments being made through a website about sand filtration, which I was gonna ask our state man. .... The mayor covered it, and I don't know how many of you folks read the paper last night. I'm rather outspoken and that's the way it is." Councilor Coles goes on to say he was dissatisfied that our water wasn't tested and quotes the article which says that, unlike Baker City, Bend, OR employees continued to do Crypto monitoring every month since 2008 even though it wasn't required because they though it would be the best management practice and satisfy requirements for due diligence. Coles goes on to say that Bend is in the "same situation as the city of Baker, so I'll go back and say, like I did, I'm not sold on UV". [Well the same situation sort of. Both have a relatively clean water supply and both have some Crypto, but, according to Wiki, "Bend recorded a population of 76,693 at the time of the 2010 US Census, up from 52,029 at the 2000 census. The estimated population of Bend as of 2012 is 79,109." Ours, according to Census Quick Facts is 9,696. So they use probably 7 to 8 times the amount of water we use, and they have 7 to 8 times as many people to pay for it. Their tax base is huge with, according to Zillow, a median home price in June of $350,000, while Baker City's median home price was $159,000 in June. According to the census, our median income was $35,458 for the period 2007-2011, and Bend's was $52,596 for the same period. So, water quantity needing disinfection is massively different, they have many more people, who are much wealthier, and they have a larger tax base with higher property values--all of which gives them economies of scale and more and better options when it comes to choosing and paying for water treatment. Also, its not clear how Bend's testing relates to why Councilor Coles isn't "sold on UV."-Chris]

Don't miss the important statements by Bill Goss of the Oregon Water Authority later in the segment. They announce a state review of our water treatment options and the review has the potential TO CHANGE EVERYTHING and make it impossible for Baker City to install the UV system that has, as of now, been presented as an affordable and effective water treatment option for Baker City!

You can check for newly uploaded videos at my YouTube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/user/refugee2000

Special Baker City public meeting on Cryptosporidium outbreak raises as many questions as it answers

[Editing essentially finished and added 1st video 11:45 AM, 8/9/13]

 I attended and filmed the special Baker City Public meeting on the Cryptosporidium outbreak tonight [8/8/13].  I came away with more questions than answers as to how Baker City is to proceed in dealing with the crypto problem.  I am going to make this short, certainly not an exhaustive account of what occurred, as downloading and processing the video takes quite a bit of time for an almost 3 hour meeting, and I need to review it. It will take additional time to produce any YouTube videos. So this will be a rather bare summary and outline, and just what I consider to be the most important points until I decide to go to sleep (which won't be long)--video and most analysis will come later. (This account is from notes taken and memory as I was trying to film the event, so I will correct any errors after I am able to review the video.)

Mayor Langrell opened and explained the nature of the meeting before turning it over to City manager Mike Kee who presented the agenda and provided a summary timeline that was similar to the information in his August 2, 2013 Weekly Update. He also provided the results of the Cryptosporidium tests that have occurred during the Crypto "crisis."
Here is the video of City Manager Kee's introduction. It is somewhat dim and grainy due to low light on Baker City High School auditorium stage but best video possible under the conditions and the audio is acceptable. Best watched on YouTube by clicking this link:
Crypto Meeting Intro, Baker City, OR 080713



Alicia Hills, from the Baker County Health Department, spoke about the 15 confirmed Crypto cases and the "About Cryptosporidiosis" flyer that has been made available to residents and visitors which lists recommendations and suggestions for staying safe during Baker City's Crypto crisis. You can find the flyer here.

Michelle Owens, Director of the Public Works Department talked about the need for water use curtailment, while reminding everyone that this is a great community to live in. ;-)

Heidi Dalton talked about the decision to keep the Sam-O-Swim pool facility closed because the risks of keeping it open were too high. They will do the usual September maintenance during the current closure period.

Bill Goss from the Oregon Health Authority Drinking Water Program said that the outbreak was a naturally occurring event and that no one was to blame. He indicated that no one could predict when the no boil order would end as they will need tests results indicating that there are essentially zero Crypto oocysts in the water supply. He stated that an ongoing monitoring plan for Cryptosporidium will be instituted until a treatment facility is constructed that provides for 99.9% removal of Cryptosporidium oocysts, and that is must be in place by October of 2016. (The issue of why monitoring had not been continued after the initial round of testing ended in 2011 was brought up by citizens during the meeting.)

To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Goss did not mention at this time that the state will be reviewing out treatment options which could result in the state imposing a treatment plan different from the 99.9 % effective UV treatment plan they had already recommended.

Michelle Owen talked about solutions to the Crypto problem that the city was looking at.  These included:

• Long-term plan for UV treatment of Cryptosporidium.
• Mid-term solution of finding or drilling additional supplementary water from wells (Wells are generally not be affected by Cryptosporidium.
• Short-term solutions that include boiling, and borrowing a portable non-validated membrane filter unit.

Brian Black from the HDR  engineering firm talked about the accelerated schedule for the UV treatment facility. The schedule was to include:

• Complete design and sighn-up contractor in early spring or earlier
• Begin construction in the summer of 2014
• Complete construction in summer of 2015

The accelerated schedule would bring in a 99.9% effective UV facility a year before the current deadline.

Mayor Langrell moderated a Q and A session with the audience but first discussed issues presented by some questions that had been submitted in writing by the audience. The ones he mentioned primarily had to do with whether the city [and its citizens], had a responsibility to compensate businesses that have suffered losses due to the present crisis.

Some citizens related the problems they had encountered while suffering from Crypto, and asked why the city had delayed moving forward with UV treatment when we were told as early as 2009 that treatment was required. One of these, Linda Wall of Baker City, also had members of the large audience raise their hands if they had been dealing with the symptoms of Cryptosporidiosis. She estimated that about 1/4 to 1/3 of those present raised their hands.

Former Councilor and Judge Milo Pope laid the responsibility for delay on Former Mayor and current Councilor Dennis Dorrah (who did not attend the meeting), Councilor Roger Coles, and other Councilors who had delayed providing treatment.

There were many more interesting public comments that I will try to post as a YouTube video later.

The bottom line, in terms of how we will move forward came when Councilor Coles gave a spirited rebuttal to Milo Pope's comments and then Mayor Langrell validated Councilor Coles comments that he couldn't see going forward at the time because DEQ might suddenly change the requirements in  the future, even though Mayor Langrell had spoken about the accelerated schedule for UV earlier.  I commented that I thought using that sort of speculation was a scare tactic and that given EPA approval of UV and current state direction there was no basis for it.  Then, perhaps in response to questioning on that point by Councilor Mosier (have to check the video),  Bill Goss from the State Health Authority said that a change in requirements was a possibility because the state was going to review the present outbreak and could possibly change their recommendation to the much more expensive $17M to $20M water filtration requirement and plant that costs over $300,000/year to maintain.

I pointed out that we had spent the meeting talking about installing UV treatment, that is what the state has told us we need to install, and that filtration would cost significantly more than UV to install and maintain. I misspoke the figures as being in millions rather that thousands, but the point was that maintenance costs are still something like 25 times greater for filtration than for UV treatment, according to the 2009 figures provided to the city by HDR.

When I asked him after the meeting about this announcement, after 80% of the meeting had been about the accelerated schedule for constructing the UV treatment plant, he told me that his announcement had been timely as the outbreak had only been going of for a few weeks, and he was there to talk about other things (i.e., the boil water order). We discussed a few other issues related to the state's review, but it is late so those will be discussed later, as will numerous comments by a very engaged audience.

Given the late announcement of a state review, which Mr. Goss said will take about two months (or possibly 6 month to a year), I am at a loss to understand how the earlier presentations about an accelerated schedule for the installation of a UV water treatment facility were allowed to be presented, how they can move forward or be accomplished, and I am beginning to understand why local governments do not trust regulatory bodies like the DEQ or the Oregon Health Authority.  How can Councilors or staff, left in limbo, commit resources to any solution, when the regulatory agencies reserve the right to waste the time and resources communities have committed by changing their mind--especially when such regulatory changes can bring financial ruin to many low income citizens and potentially even the to cities they live in?

One searches for answers as to why the the feds and the state would impose such confusion and uncertainty on the cities and towns they have been given authority over when there are adequately safe, rational, and affordable solutions to the problems being faced. I also wonder if it isn't becoming clear that many government workers, from the federal to the local level, including as well some of our other financially comfortable citizens, have not simply become completely insensitive to the world and needs of low income people. I heard the folks tonight (now last night) who told their stories of not having health insurance and not being able to afford to go to the doctor, and some of those who could go to the doctor, couldn't afford the medications they needed to treat the cryptosporidiosis they suffered from. With the new push to force selection of unaffordable water treatment options, it is not clear whether some state, county, and city officials care if low income people can afford the quest for guaranteed safety at any cost that some of the comfortable apparently seek, and which ultimately places burdens [I. e., increases in water/sewer rates] on the poor that they cannot bear. Perhaps the regulators, developers, realtors, newspaper peddlers, merchants, and the wealthy, see an opportunity in ridding themselves of poor people by making their towns into places where the poor can't afford to live any more. A kinder, gentler, saner solution would be for them to buy a membrane filtration unit for their home and save the rest of us the expense of providing them with an incredibly small extra margin of safety.

:-) Don't Saddle Me,

I'm Safe With UV!

Buy Your Own Damn Filter! ;-)

Sorry about that, I'm in the sleepless zone.

More videos in a future blog when I figure out how to free disk space.

New Suspects in Baker City Cryptosporidium Case?

               Cows Grazing Where They Are Not Supposed To Be; Forshey Meadows, W-WNF

                "A number of elk do congregate in the Elk Creek area."

There was a rumor going round the last week or two about ODFW putting salt blocks near the shoreline or our Goodrich Reservoir water supply and that they were  attracting the mountain goats to reservoir resulting in accumulations of scat. I spoke with Brian Ratliff, the ODFW Baker District Wildlife Biologist, yesterday and he explained that they only use salt blocks in the Goodrich Basin for about three days [at most] during annual goat roundups.  These roundups have resulted in the removal of 226 mountain goats over the years since they were introduced in 1983. They place the salt blocks in buckets to keep salts out of the water supply during the 3-day roundups, but he also told me there is permanent natural salt lick in the basin near the lake that was exposed when earth-fill was removed to create the dam. The goats use it for much of the year. He said that goat scat and etc., may be pushed into the lake from winter avalanches because the goats are on the snow banks and avalanche shoots all winter long. At the request of the city, he said that ODFW had moved the trap site last year to a new site about 120 yards from the lake. They placed sediment barriers and sloped the site so that any runoff and sediment would flow away from the lake. I explained to him that I had been involved in cattle trespass grazing issues in the past where fences aren't maintained, gates are not closed, or trees fall over fences, and was wondering whether cows get into the watershed.  He told me that ODFW was aware that cattle get into the watershed on a fairly regular basis.

These facts could account for the relatively low concentration of crypto found at Goodrich in the initial August 2nd results. The latest results from the Goodrich line have not yet been reported on the city website and I don't know if they are all in as I write. [Update: Since I wrote this, the Herald has published an article reporting that the Aug. 4 sample from the Goodrich line contained no oocysts.]

I am aware of some new results that came in yesterday morning though, and, if what I have learned is correct (and I have no reason to doubt it-Others have seen similar official email flying around) they show a large number of Crypto oocysts were found at the Elk Creek Diversion near the southern end of the watershed. The number found is a few orders of magnitue greater than the average number of oocysts found elsewhere (913 oocysts, compared to 0, 1, or 2), with the caveat however, that I am not privy to the Goodrich line results. Yesterday's city e-mail that is going around states: 

The Elk Creek water was turned out of the system as soon as the call was received this morning.  The diversion had been visually inspected on July 31st and no issues or concerns were noted i.e.: no animals or feces in the vicinity of the diversion.  A second extensive tour of the diversion site was made again this morning and again nothing out of the ordinary was present.  A number of elk do congregate in the Elk Creek area.

There have been cattle in the Elk Creek Diversion area in the past, but none this spring.

It seems to me that the results received by the city yesterday were complete enough and significant enough to have been released to the public on their website by noon yesterday. If they are released to a few individuals, who subsequently share them with their friends, then the results should have been released to all residents through the city website. Having information floating around to a special group of Baker Buddies is way too Baker. The three Rs for city sharing of information to it's citizens should be: Release it early, Release it often, Release it to everyone.

The Elk Creek Diversion is just to the north west of the thick black line inside of the blue highlight circle. The Blue Canyon Allotment, administered by the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest is to the south and east of the line, and the Baker City watershed is to the north of the black line but east of the Elkhorn Ridge. (CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE THEM)

Elk Creek Diversion from Google Earth taken June 29, 2013.  44°44'44.00"N  117°58'26.88"W About 5187 feet

The new information suggests there may be other possible suspects in our Baker City Crypto case--cattle and/or elk.  It is well known that one species of Crypto, Cryptosporidium parvum, is commonly associated with both cattle and elk, and that it commonly causes cryptosporidiosis in humans.  

The city's email says there "have been cattle in the Elk Creek Diversion area in the past, but none this spring." Back in November 2011, after Crypto had been found in our water supply, I requested information from the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest concerning public land cattle grazing allotments adjacent to the Baker City watershed. The information I received back then indicated that there were two such allotments--the Stovepipe Allotment west of Marble Pass, and the Blue Canyon Allotment that is in the Elk Creek, Griffin Gulch area and south.  They indicated that up to 80 cattle normally graze the public land portion of the Blue Canyon Allotment from June first to September 30.  It is possible that cattle can on occasion, due to the circumstances mentioned earlier, get through allotment fences, and it commonly happens throughout the Forest Service and BLM allotments in the Western states. I have seen them trespassing on other allotments, trashing scientifically oriented exclosures, doing similar in riparian exclosures, and grazing in restricted meadows while being escorted to their proper allotments (See top photo above). Fences and cattle guards do not guarantee the exclusion of a lucky or determined cow.

                 Cow inside of riparian exclosure, Malheur National Forest

Cryptosporidium oocysts can also last for months in the environment, so it is not out of the question that something could have occurred last year that left cowpies too close to the water intake, resulting in Crypto oocysts being washed into the intake area.

More later.