CAROLINA BEACH — Is something in the Town of Carolina Beach’s drinking water making pets (and possibly people) sick? That is the question residents are asking after a social media post was posted to a Facebook group regarding foul-smelling and tasting water along with sick pets last week.
On Friday, the question was posted to the Carolina Beach Locals Facebook page by a resident with concerns about the water after her pet had been sick and coffee made with tap water was undrinkable.
And she’s not alone, with 90 comments on the post, other residents chimed in claiming their pets also were showing similar symptoms — diarrhea and vomiting bile — and complaining about a tainted smell to the water.
An email to the town manager regarding the issue was also found in town records likening the smell of tap water to a ‘dirty turtle tanks’ and describing the conversation as it unfolded on social media.
“In summary, numerous complaints about bad tasting and bad-smelling water in many parts of the town from approximately Monday through about Thursday this week. I experienced it as well. Smell described as like a dirty turtle tank, the bottom of a lake, and similar. A number of us had dogs or cats throw up bile and have diarrhea in the exact same time period,” Paul Levy, the resident who reached out to the town manager, wrote.
“Our dog did and she has never done that before. Another dog wound up at the vet emergency hospital in Wilmington. The person who started the thread wondered if the system had been flushed with a chemical that did not clear. This makes sense to me. By Friday no more incidents,” he concluded.
The town responds
First and foremost, according to Town Manager Ed Parvin, nothing new has been added to the drinking water in Carolina Beach and water tests have come back as normal.
In fact, the town tests it’s water quality on a continuous basis through its utility department.
“The Town does many things to ensure the water supply is safe for users. For example, water testing occurs nonstop for various contaminates. These tests occur all over town. To date, we have not had any issues,” Parvin said. “We also have a flushing program where we flush lines with low usage and work to have a general displacement all over town to ensure the system continues to have positive turnover. During any flushing we also conduct testing.”
Parvin said the town is aware of the concerns on social media and is asking for anyone with a possible concern to reach out to the town to help address any perceived or actual water-quality issues.
“We are aware that concerns have been pushed out on social media. We would ask that anyone having concerns about their water quality put in a work order with the town. We can come out and work to resolve any issue with the Town’s system. If the issue is on private property (house side of the meter) a licensed plumber will need to be utilized,” he said.
To submit a work order:
- go to www.carolinabeach.org
- Click on “I want to” – “report” – “customer concern”
- This page will give you an option to call or email in a work order. It will also allow you to monitor the status of a work order online.
Send comments and tips to Michael.p@localvoicemedia.com
