USA - Harbor Beach says water mishap was human error

• By Bradley Massman Tribune Staff Writer
 

HARBOR BEACH — City officials now say a contamination of the Harbor Beach water supply two weeks ago that left residents without water for roughly 60 hours was the result of a human error, not a malfunction of equipment.
Two officials and a drinking water emergency report submitted to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and obtained by the Tribune on Friday confirmed the “malfunction” was actually a human error.
Initially, the contamination was reported as an aluminum sulfate transfer pump malfunction, where an over-feed of aluminum sulfate entered the city’s water system early on Sunday, July 17. Residents were without usable water until 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 19.
“I wasn’t just sure what had happened,” city Water Superintendent Clark Creguer told the Tribune in regards to initially calling the incident a malfunction. “It was basically a malfunction because human error was involved.”

According to the written report, Harbor Beach water operator Rick Murawske contacted Cregeur, around 5:30 a.m. Sunday to notify him that, “he was having trouble with the filters shutting down because of high turbidity.”
Murawske called back shortly after and informed Cregeur he inadvertently left the aluminum sulfate transfer pump on overnight, the report states.
Upon his arrival at the plant, Cregeur determined that Murawske pumped around 15,000 pounds of aluminum sulfate, nearly emptying the tank, into the water system.
The aluminum made the water unusable and residents could notice a change in color and taste when they began using city water Sunday morning. Residents began notifying city officials of the problem.
While the water was contaminated it is not believed to have caused any health problems or injuries.....

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