Package Causes Water Scare: UPDATE ON SUSPICIOUS DUMPING IN RESERVOIR IN CONNECTICUT RESERVOIR

FOX NEWS HARTFORD CONNECTICUT/CTNOW.COM ^ | 03/26/02 | By COLIN POITRAS, Courant Staff Writer

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 CONNECTICUT

Package Causes Water Scare March 26, 2002 By COLIN POITRAS, Courant Staff Writer MIDDLEFIELD -- State and federal authorities were thrown into high alert Monday after a man was seen tossing a suspicious package into Middletown's public water supply off Route 66. The package - described as a bound plastic bag - was quickly recovered by state police divers and sent to a state lab for testing. Preliminary tests showed it contained an unidentified "starchy" substance that is not considered a health threat, Middletown Mayor Domenique Thornton said. More tests on both the package and the water supply are planned for today. Thornton assured residents their public water is safe to drink. "The water supply has been secured," State Police spokesman Sgt. Paul Vance said Monday night. "There are no contamination concerns whatsoever." The plastic bag, recovered about 15 feet from shore, did not show any signs of punctures or signs that it leaked, he said. Middletown officials immediately shut down the filtration plant at the Mount Higby Reservoirs after state police alerted them to a possible contamination threat at about 5:30 p.m. The reservoirs, although located in Middlefield, are owned by Middletown and serve as a backup water supply for all of the city's 44,000 residents, including thousands of students at Wesleyan University and hundreds of juvenile delinquents housed at Long Lane and the new Connecticut Juvenile Training School. The city's water system was drawing directly from the city's main underground aquifer as an extra precaution Monday night. Thornton said that system will remain in place until all the testing is done and the reservoir filtration plant is turned back on. There was no interruption of water service at any time Monday, officials said. A passing motorist called police at about 5:30 p.m. after seeing a man pull off the road and toss something into the south side of the reservoir, Vance said. The report immediately sent local, state and federal officials into full alert. Investigators with the FBI, state police, state Department of Environmental Protection and state Department of Public Health descended on the scene. Middlefield firefighters, water department officials and Middletown and Meriden police also responded. Monday evening, a state police helicopter used an infrared imaging camera to scan the woods and shores of the reservoirs on the Middletown-Middlefield town line, but found nothing. "Since 9/11, we are exercising due caution and any incidents involving a public water supply or watershed are going to be the subject of a full criminal investigation," Vance said. Authorities were still looking for the man who tossed the package late Monday night. He was last seen driving a dark, full-sized car with tinted windows, police said. Word of the possible water contamination spread quickly in Middletown on Monday night. While some officials and residents quietly criticized authorities for not alerting people sooner, Middletown Fire Chief Robert Ross said he was comfortable with the way the incident was handled. The city recently installed new fencing around parts of the reservoir in order to improve security, but it apparently did not prevent the man from tossing the plastic bag into the water. Courant Staff Writer Stephen Busemeyer contributed to this story.

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[Dales]

Unfortunately, what you said makes sense. Also, "false alarms" can cause general unease and fear which is also a goal of terrorists.

[VA Advogado]

Nice formatting. And at what point does this stop being 'breaking news'?

[FreedomPoster]

BTW - as a part of my civil defense preparedness, there is now a blue polypropylene 55 gallon drum lurking in my crawl space. With an appropriate amount of bleach added at fill time. Something all may want to consider. Floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes can all disrupt water supplies - it doesn't have to be a terrorist.

[LoneGOPinCT]

My "northerly" neighbors are bound to do me in!

Not us. In fact, we are south of the MDC overflows as well so we get all the goodies in the water as well. You mean you don't fell comfortable with another quasi-public controlled utility at the helm? :^)

My parents go canoeing and kayaking all the time up here without wetsuits and I tell them they're crazy. They ought to do down to Hamburg Cove area. Anything south of Gillette Castle should be pretty good though. The effluent should be well diluted by then.

[Chad Fairbanks]

White starchy substance?

Mashed potatoes?

[gridlock]

While some officials and residents quietly criticized authorities for not alerting people sooner,...

So let me get this right. Some guy is seen tossing a baggie into the reserve reservoir at about 5:30 PM. The reservoir is immediately shut down at 5:30 PM. The package is found within an hour. By evening, all water is being pumped from underground wells. And the story gets to the local paper by deadline. And these people say the response wasn't fast enough? Do they expect the authorities to respond before something happens?

Kudos to whoever was in charge of this response.

[McGruff]

This is the HTML formatting police.

Pull your computer over!

[marktuoni]

Too close to the Red Dog Saloon for comfort! If one of those patrons spotted the guy...he'd be in a lot worse shape than if the cops caught him!

[VRWC_minion]

In this spot there is no security. Rte 66 is a state highway and cuts through it. The chances of someone seeing someone throw something in and bothering to report it are pretty slim. This could have happened dozens of times before it got reported.

[VRWC_minion]

Too close to the Red Dog Saloon for comfort!

My thought was the guy was either a patron of the Red Dog or a patient at CT Valley.

[LibertyGirl77]

It was probably just a package of cocaine or something. I almost feel bad for the mobsters and druggies at this point--every time they try to commit their usual, run-of-the-mill crimes, they get accused of being jihad terrorists. On the other hand, the attentions of the authorities are definitely pointed elsewhere....

[Semper Paratus]

The dilution factor for anything dumped into a reservoir is astronomical.

A more likely point for water contamination is close to the target as was suspected underneath the US embassy in rome.

[mewzilla]

There are no toilets in Connecticut? :)

[DJ88]

A *I would be drinking bottled water* bump.

[LoneGOPinCT]

The only thing I did to prepare for Y2K was to buy ten 5 gal. bottles of water just in case. I figured we couldn't do without water for the baby bottles at the time. How long will bottled water last if unopened?

[Ditter]

Maybe it was a package of tamales that went bad.

[antidisestablishment]

Don't let logic get in your way! LOL

[FreedomPoster]

How long will bottled water last if unopened?

The stuff I buy at Costco has a "use by" date that's about 2 years out. I'm pretty sure the FAQ's I read when I got my drum said that properly bleached water was good for 5+ years.

[2Trievers]

Pour it on your petunias this summer Lone! Remember we're in a drought ... sure to continue this summer! &;-)