Journalzor - January 26th, 2005
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06:45 am
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WATER CRISIS!!! Okay...maybe just a warning...
Okay...now if anyone has read my story "The 6:00 News", they would have noticed that the updated chapter mentioned something about a water problem...
Oh yes...there is a water problem hehe.
Warning signs
Water crisis raises red flags
Jan. 26, 2005 12:00 AM
Don't drink the water. It sounds ominous when a major city like Phoenix has to warn people to avoid tap water unless they boil it.
Fortunately, we're facing a public health problem, not a calamity. The experience raises questions, however, about how well Phoenix would respond in a major crisis. There are definitely lessons to be learned, ones that local governments around the state should take to heart.
First, city officials needed a single, clear message explaining the problem, what to do about it and how long it may last. This creates a basic set of critical information that people will hear over and over - and be able to repeat to others.
Mayor Phil Gordon had the right instincts in making himself easily accessible to the media. But this is a time when experts should do most of the talking.
Throughout Tuesday, there was too much confusion over how to use water safely. Was it OK to wash your hands? Were plates safe to use after going through the dishwasher?
Getting the message right is Step 1. Getting it out is just as important.
Phoenix decided against activating its reverse-911 system - where the city makes emergency calls to residents - on the grounds that it's designed for more localized events and is expensive. But that certainly would have been a handy tool, and the decision is worth re-examining.
Phoenix used its Web site effectively, with a clear link from the home page and a useful Q&A. But the Spanish version didn't appear until Tuesday afternoon.
And the water department phone line was swamped for hours Tuesday. In this era of security concerns, local governments should be able to set up hotlines rapidly, with adequate staffing.
Cities also need to be ready for worst-case scenarios. It's a variation on Murphy's law: As Phoenix discovered, when something goes wrong, it will happen at the worst possible time.
Normally, Phoenix has five water treatment plants. But two were shut down for routine canal cleaning, and a third suffered storm damage. So the city had no way to make up the supply when problems developed at the Val Vista plant, where filters couldn't handle the heavy load of sediment caused by recent storms. That led to levels of turbidity (imperceptible cloudiness) that violated federal standards and could help spread disease.
The filtering difficulty began late Sunday. As officials tried to cope with it, they urged Phoenix residents to conserve water. But the sediment levels got worse.
After conferring with Maricopa County Health Department, the city sent out a notice to alert the public at about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. Some residents woke up, turned on the TV or radio and heard the warnings about the water supply. But lots of people woke up, drank a glass of water, brushed their teeth and washed a piece of fruit to eat for breakfast. With no idea of any health risk.
Councilman Claude Mattox plans to have his natural resources subcommittee investigate how Phoenix officials handled the water situation and whether the public should have been notified sooner.
To their credit, the mayor's staff also realizes that they must figure out a more systematic response to such incidents.
Phoenix water met federal standards late Tuesday, and the warnings were expected to be lifted today. But we can't sit back and relax. Phoenix and other Arizona cities must be well-prepared for future emergencies, when we may need to take far more serious steps than boiling our water.
So that's what's going on. It was weird when I got out of the shower yesterday and Mellanie came over to me and was like "DON'T DRINK THE WATER!" hehe. We brushed our teeth with bottled water hehe.
At school, they made an announcment that we weren't allowed to drink any of the water from the drinking fountains...so they set up orange coolers around the school so people could get water. They closed all the fountain drinks at lunch too.
They turned off all the showers so people couldn't shower after P.E...the toilets still flushed, but they didn't put soap in ALL the bathrooms...even when they told us "*HISS* WASH YOUR HANDS AFTER TOUCHING THAT WATER!! *HISS*"
...yeah...go Mountain Pointe...
So then at 10:00 I watched the news about the water and how people are boiling it and stuff...and that they were like "If you get these symptomes *lists all kinds od symptoms* then you might have *insert horrible sounding disease* please call your doctor IMMEDIATELY"
Yeah...hehe
On a better note...I went to the band concert at Corona with Mellanie and Michael. We went to see Wesley and we thought their band was pretty good ^^
I met Wesley's grandparents who were very nice. And I saw his mom too and I said hello to her.
I had been waiting all day to see him ^^ And I saw him ^^ Yay!
And now I shall leave the computer and get ready for school. My friend is parking her car at the private pool across the street and we're giving her a ride to school (cause there are no more parking passes left hehe)
Current Mood:  bouncy
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05:30 pm
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STILL Water problems...
Yeah, so we STILL have a water problem...and we STILL have to boil water hehe. And sometimes they say that we shouldn't use our showers...O_o I WANT TO SHOWER! hehe. So I think I will...I just won't DRINK the water...
The school still had their stupid orange cooler things (which people are saying that the water came from a hose...*shudder* glad I haven't drinken any of that water) and they told us to not even use the tap water in the bathrooms to wash our hands...o_O Eeeeekkk
So, the cups they had for the water in the coolers were these cone cup things...so I took one and wrote "Cone Head" on it and put it on my head...
Rebecca: What if you hit the top it while it was sitting on the table? *pokes top of cone* Wouldn't it hurt?
Me: Nah, it won't! Watch. *smacks top of cone* ...AUUUGHHH!!!!!
Rebecca: *starts laughing* AHAHAHHAHA!!
And I told this girl that Thomas (kid in my piano class) was my relative (cause he is)...and I turned to him and was like "How are we related again?" and he was like "(Second) Cousin twice removed"
Me: So, you were twice removed...that means you were put back once...
Him: o_O
Me: So are you still removed or are you back?
Him: Shut up.
Yes yes...today was an interesting day.
Also, I need to think of a topic for my junior research paper...cause like, everyone and their mom has to write a research paper in high school...but TUHSD decided that MPHS was going to do it their junior year...lucky me...*thinks of topic*
T-MINUS 2 DAYS, 1 HOUR, and 2 MINUTES UNTIL REGIONALS!!!
Current Mood:  blah
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