Troubled water: Area recalls an epidemic

Giardiasis outbreak In the 1980s, more than 250,000 people in the Wyoming Valley were affected and hundreds sickened by ‘beaver fever’

In 1983, the local water company’s image was as tainted as its water.

Giardiasis – the intestinal illness also known as beaver fever – became a part of the Wyoming Valley vocabulary and, for hundreds of people – it became synonymous with a most unpleasant experience.

More than two decades later, after the construction of water filtration plants, passage of stricter regulations regarding water and a new corporate ownership, people may still wonder: Is it safe to drink water out of the tap?

“Sure,” he said. “But you will always find some people who will never drink from the tap again because of what they endured back then.”

Remember when

On Dec. 23, 1983, the alert was sent on to many Luzerne County consumers: The water was not safe to drink. A microscopic organism, the giardia cyst, had contaminated what was believed to have been a pristine water supply. To kill the cyst, water coming from the tap had to be boiled before it was consumed.

More than 250,000 people were affected. Bottled water sales skyrocketed, as did the sale of home water filtration systems.

Before that, hundreds of people came down with giardiasis, an intestinal illness that causes prolonged diarrhea, nausea, cramps and weakness.

The local water at that time was supplied by a locally owned company, Pennsylvania Gas and Water Co. The giardia-infected water supply was traced to the seepage of sewage into the Spring Brook Reservoir in Lackawanna County.

Beavers consumed the contaminated water and concentrated the cysts internally and passed the cyst-laded water into the company’s distribution system. With not much more treatment than a sprinkling of chlorine, the cysts were able to reach unsuspecting customers – a reported 437 of them became sick with giardiasis.

The utility has since been sold to Pennsylvania American Water Co., a subsidiary of American Water Co. Dave Kaufman, director of engineering at Pennsylvania American Water, said all of the company’s water is run through state-of-the-art filtration plants – all built after the giardiasis incident. Kaufman has been in the business since 1975 when he was hired by PG&W. He has been with the new owner since it purchased the operation in 1996.

“Passage of the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking Water Act in 1984 mandated filtration across the state,” Kaufman said. “Our (PAWC’s) No. 1 obligation is to provide safe and reliable water to our customers and our state-of-the-art treatment plants guarantee that.”

“We provide a higher quality water than what is dictated by regulations,” Kaufman said. “And that is voluntary. I think that speaks to the level of sincerity of our corporate policies to our customers.”

There’s been a lot of change in the water industry in the last 15 to 20 years, Kaufman said, adding that the Pennsylvania American ranks as one of the premier systems in the country.

Kaufman said the company’s distribution system has approximately 1,700 miles of main lines and has an active main replacement program. The company continues to invest millions of dollars into the system, he said.

Pennsylvania American’s water is tested prior to treatment and post-treatment, Kaufman said. He claims the product is as safe as, or better, than any water offered anywhere else in the United States.

“We have expended and continue to expend millions of dollars to upgrade and improve our system and we have several projects on the books or in our plans to maintain that level of quality,” he said.

American Water Co. serves 17 million people in 32 states; its Pennsylvania customer base is 2.1 million people in 35 counties and more than 370 communities. Statewide, it employs more than 900 people.

Nailing down the problem

Jim Chester, who was the regional director for the former state Department of Environmental Resources when the giardiasis outbreak occurred, remembers the water company. Those memories aren’t fond ones.

“In a word, PG&W was uncooperative,” Chester said. “To the point that they lied to us repeatedly.”

Chester said a main point of contention came when DER asked the water company if it could control the flow of water to the west side of the Susquehanna River.

“They told us they did not have that ability,” Chester said. “We went over piping diagrams in their board room. They kept denying that they could shut off the water from Spring Brook. As a result, those customers had better than two weeks of unnecessary exposure.”

Chester said he didn’t learn of the company’s deception until his boss – DER secretary Nick DeBenedictis – came to Wilkes-Barre for a meeting with PG&W officials.

“We met in the PG&W board room until 2 a.m.,” Chester said. “It was January 1984. Secretary DeBenedictis finally asked, ‘What in the hell is going on here?’ Those were his exact words. Nobody was looking to blame anybody; we were just concerned about protecting the public.”

At some point, Chester said, the company said it could shut off the water from Spring Brook at Walnut Street in Kingston.

“All that time went by and the company knew it could shut that valve and protect the people, but they chose not to give us that information,” Chester said.

He said Bernie Healey of the state Department of Health was the unsung hero of the day, having identified the source of the problem much earlier than anyone could have expected.

PG&W tried to imply that he was incompetent, Chester said. When the state Senate Environmental Committee investigated Chester and questioned his decision to issue the boil advisory, Chester showed the committee a single sheet of paper.

“That’s all there was on the books at that time. At the time, DER had been petitioning the state Legislature to change and improve the water laws. That led to the major changes in state laws regarding water regulation.”

It took more than 11 years to settle the five class-action, giardiasis-related lawsuits that were filed. In one of the actions, more than $800,000 was split among giardiasis victims, said attorney Michael Cefalo, one of the lawyers representing some of the plaintiffs.

“I remember people were kind of ill and couldn’t figure out what it was,” Cefalo said. “They went to local hospitals with all sorts of ailments. It was finally determined they had giardiasis.”

Cefalo recalled the lengthy legal battle and said the case was finally settled with PG&W.

The giardiasis outbreak has been called a breakdown in the system of environmental protection, with the burden of blame shared by regulatory agencies, state government and the previous owner of the water company.

Coming Monday

Water sources

Pennsylvania American Water Co. has 10 water systems serving the greater Wilkes-Barre and Scranton areas. The five treatment plants that serve the Greater Wilkes-Barre area are:

• Nesbitt plant takes water from Spring Brook Creek and supplies Pittston, Wyoming, West Pittston and nearby communities

• Watres plant treats water from Mill Creek, Gardner Creek and Spring Brook and serves most of Wilkes-Barre

• Ceasetown plant takes water from Harveys Creek and Pikes Creek and supplies water to Plymouth, Nanticoke, Shickshinny, Hanover Township, Mocanaqua and other towns