E. coli outbreak unrelated to homeless encampment, experts say
May 18—Experts and city officials say that claims making the rounds on social media that a homeless encampment was responsible for the recent E. coli outbreak in the Norman Public Water Supply are not true.
On May 7, the City of Norman issued a boil notice for residents of northeast Norman who use the Norman Public Water supply, stating that there was E. coli in the water. Over the weekend, some residents started claiming in Facebook comments and posts that the outbreak was directly caused by a homeless encampment near Lake Thunderbird.
"That's a new one for me," said Tyrrell Conway, head of Oklahoma State University's Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. "Water pipes are under high pressure. There's nothing that is going to get into a pipe. Water's going to leak out, but there's nothing that's going to get in."
Conway said water that comes from natural sources always has some level of E. coli in it, but the bacteria is rooted out through water treatment and the high pressure of the pipes. The only time when bacteria like E. coli could get into the water system, triggering a boil order, would be at some point after treatment, which was the case in the May 7 incident.
When The Transcript asked Geri Wellborn, the water treatment manager at the Vernon Campbell Water Treatment Plant in Norman, if the E. coli in the water system stemmed from a homeless encampment, she simply and emphatically said, "No."
"Based on the location of the samples containing E. coli, it appears that the contamination was the result of construction projects within the well field in the far northeast part of town," she said. "The problem was resolved by flushing contaminated water out of the system using treated water from the WTP and from Oklahoma City. Water was flushed and lines were re-tested to verify the E. coli was flushed out of these lines.
"These tests were collected a second day with no water flushed through the system as well to ensure the contamination was eliminated from the system. As an additional precaution, the well field has been kept offline and additional samples have been regularly collected to ensure the water meets standards while the plan to bring the wells back into service is finalized."
Connecting those experiencing homelessness with E. coli in a water source is scientifically inaccurate, Wellborn said.
"Water within Lake Thunderbird already contains levels of E. coli from natural sources such as warm-blooded mammals living in the watershed," she said. "This can be from cattle, horses, pigs, dogs, cats, municipal stormwater runoff, failing septic systems, hunters, hikers, swimmers, etc. The lake water is assumed to have bacteria present since it comes from a natural source, similar to creeks, ponds, lakes and other water bodies."
But bacteria is always flushed out of the water system during treatment, she said.
"The water is pumped to the Vernon Campbell Water Treatment Plant, where it is treated to remove solids and disinfect [the water] using chlorine and ammonia," Wellborn said. "This kills viruses and bacteria, which includes E. coli."
Conway confirmed Wellborn's assessment, saying that trying to pin E. coli solely on a homeless encampment is wrong.
"Unless there was evidence waste from this encampment ended up getting into the water line somehow or a reservoir — after treatment, not before — then there is no way that could happen," he said. "... I can't see how it would happen unless there's some individual getting into the water post treatment and somehow contaminating it. It would almost have to be a purposeful thing if you're going to attribute it to individuals."
Reese Gorman covers COVID-19, local politics and elections for The Transcript; reach him at rgorman@normantranscript.com or @reeseg_3.
