RaeAnn Galasso fills up buckets of water at the Mud Bay spring to use for drinking and cleaning. (Abbey Collins)
This summer, a popular water source in Haines tested positive for E. coli. The Mud Bay spring is not regulated by the borough and is not regularly tested. But it’s where a lot of people get their drinking water. And some residents are not planning to stop.
The so-called spring is on Mud Bay Road, just before Letnikof Cove. Two pipes stick out of the hillside, with rocks built up around them. It looks pretty official, but it’s not. I drove out to the spring on a summer afternoon to take a sample of the water. I got there just as a bunch of tourists were finishing up. The visitors were sipping the water out of paper cups.
I tested for arsenic, nitrates, nitrites and total coliforms.
RaeAnn Galasso is filling up several buckets of water and loading them into the back of her car. She says she’s been drinking this water for a long time.
“Sometimes for cleaning,” says Galasso. “I have a dry cabin, so it’s all this water. I’ve been using it for over 20 years. My plants do really well. I like it. It tastes great.”
But, she says it is concerning that it’s not tested. That concerned me too. I sent samples to the Juneau-based water testing company Admiralty Environmental.
The lab results show no significant levels of arsenic, nitrates or nitrites. But they did find E. coli. The test doesn’t show what strain of the bacteria is present. Cindy Christian is a drinking water specialist at the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. She says E. coli is not always bad for you. There are strains that are harmful but some that are benign.
“But they’re all associated with fecal matter that comes from mammals,” says Christian. “And some other organisms. Birds and things can carry E. coli also. In drinking water, they are not supposed to be there at all.”
Christian says E. coli is an indicator bacteria. It could mean other nasty stuff is in the water, too. Like salmonella or giardia.
With waterborne diseases like these, Christian says the symptoms are usually gastrointestinal. You might have diarrhea, abdominal cramping or lose your appetite. Some strains can cause more severe health problems.
Let’s back up a bit to how we came to test the water. We asked listeners to send up things they’ve always wondered about this area. One person sent a question asking: ‘Is the Mud Bay Spring really a spring? Or should it be called the Mud Bay runoff?’ I grabbed a friend and hiked in to the woods, trying to trace the pipes and creeks to the source.
But we couldn’t find it. So, I dug back further into the water’s history.
Haines resident Randy McDonald says he’s the one that put in the pipes, and built up the rock around them. He said he installed the pipes in the mid-1980s. McDonald says people were already getting water at the spot, but he made improvements to increase the water flow.
Someone did take measures to keep animals away from the water. But, the fencing has fallen over since then.
Christian, with the DEC, says Haines isn’t alone. She’s come across similar unregulated drinking water sources around the state.
She says in terms of monitoring water quality, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s a spring or runoff.
“Springs are usually treated as surface water also, so even if it were a natural spring, it would still – may not be suitable for drinking water unless it’s treated,” says Christian.
She says the safest bet for people who want to keep drinking the water is to boil it.
But many residents who have depended on the water source for years aren’t scared away by the E. coli. Krystal Norberg lives out Mud Bay and is even more reliant on the water because she has a dry cabin.
“I’ve drank it for 10 years,” says Norberg. “I’ve never gotten sick. Nor have I ever known anyone to have gotten sick.”
After we reported on the presence of E. coli in the water, the Haines Borough started looking in to testing it. At a recent meeting, the assembly voted unanimously to conduct a test.
But, Christian says no matter how many tests you do, one thing isn’t likely to change. She says because the so-called spring is untreated surface water exposed to elements and wildlife, it’s always likely to have bacteria like E. coli.
The most prudent thing for the borough to do would be to shut down that water source, which would make people even more happy.
OMG The nanny state is at it again! Don’t drink the waster everyone has been drinking for over 20 years. Drink the borough’s drinking water it never has any issues. Boil all the spring water, yeah thats a good idea!
Great idea, Beverly. Let’s just put warning signs at every water source everywhere. It’s all the gov’mint’s responsibility, anyway. Going across that bridge on Ripinsky? Don’t drink the water! Just blame the government for everything. It’s awesome.
You’re so funny!! No use in being proactive and taking responsibility to warn passers through, tourists or locals that the water needs to be treated before drinking. You know, the same way the “govment” wastes money in state parks by informing people of possible dangers from the surrounding they are visiting. The hell with stupid people right? If they’re stupid enough to stop at unmarked water pipes to get drinking water, they’re stupid enough to die from some sort of toxins in that water. Jackass.
Yes, but state parks warns people in state parks. The water is not borough water.
Here’s a novel idea. Spend fifty bucks and put up signs at these “pipes”, warning of the presence of e. Coli, and/or other contaminants and suggestions for how to treat the water, such as the one in Chilkat Park at the water pump. FYI, Alaska Excursions never stopped filling their water jugs for themselves and their passengers to consume, never having taken one step to treat that water. If that water is tainted and the government of Alaska/Haines has proof of such, and they don’t warn the public, and someone dies from what’s in that water, three words come to mind. HUGE LAW SUIT.