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Bayville Water Advisory: Village Hall Reaction Too Little, Too Late
Dear Editor,
Like most of my neighbors in Bayville I was alarmed Friday morning when I was informed I should not drink the water because the water department had yet another problem. Not only was there a problem in the department but also in the system used by the Village to alert residents. On Friday, Mayor Siegel insisted that every resident was alerted on Thursday night. This was not the case. Many I spoke with in my neighborhood said the first they heard was an automated call Friday late in the morning. To make matters worse almost every one had consumed water on Thursday evening and again early on Friday morning. Once again we are left asking why, why did Stephen Siegel, director of the water department and the Mayors son, not respond quicker? Why didn't the Village inform all the residents at the same time? Why didnt the Village alert the residents as soon as there was a possiblity of a problem? Village Hall blamed the breakdown on a technical need of the automated system. Apparently the Village's automated alert machine needs to have 3 rings to work properly and most folks have their machines set to 4. How would any resident know this? I went on the Village website and could find no mention of it. We can thank our lucky stars we were spared a major hurricane this year - I can only imagine the debacle that would ensue considering this break-down only involved a simple water tank. On Friday morning I went down to Village Hall to collect water for my family and the elders in my neighborhood. On the Village website they recommend 5 gallons per day per person in the event of a Hurricane. I was shocked to find that the water allotted to each family were 4 small 10 ounce bottles - 10 ounce per person versus 320 ounce per person! So in the end its the taxpayers that bear the burden for an entire truckload of Poland Spring bottled water, the loss of 600,000 gallons of fresh water and are left with the constant fear that the water is not safe. I say leave the decision in the hands of the residents - even if there is a small increase in the bacteria we should be informed and allowed to decide ourselves whether or not the risk is there.
