Brain-Eating Amoeba Found in Water Supply 8 Texas Cities Were Alerted

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--- Jenna Kieser/The Facts
Lake Jackson, Texas, residents stocked up on bottled water after the city released advisories about the water supply.

It has been an arguable question when it comes to city water supply, especially after the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.

Is our city water treatment reliable?

You may not get a positive answer now in Lake Jackson, Texas. The residents in Lake Jackson are stocking up on bottled water after the city released advisories about the water supply. Over the weekend, city officials handed out boxes of water for the population of about 27,000 at a temporary distribution center.

What happened?

The lead to the series of disaster declaration is the death of a 6-year-old boy in the Gulf Coast community. He was infected by the amoeba that enters the nose and travels to the brain after playing in a "splash pad" fountain. A prompt investigation took place after the boy's death, which local authorities and experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested the water. The preliminary results showed that three out of 11 samples collected tested positive.  One of the samples came from a hose bib at the boy's home and the others came from a "splash pad" play fountain and a hydrant.

The residents of eight Texas cities have been alerted that a brain-eating amoeba--Naegleria fowleri, was found in the southeast Texas water supply. A "Do Not Use" water advisory was issued on Sept.25 by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality(TCEQ) for Lake Jackson, Freeport, Angleton, Brazoria, Richwood, Oyster Creek, Clute, Rosenberg, as well as the Dow Chemical plant in Freeport, the Clemens & Wayne Scott Texas Department of Criminal Justice corrections facilities.

----- ABC13
----The Brazosport Water Authority is issuing a Do Not Use advisory for all water.

The TCEQ subsequently lifted the "Do Not Use" advisory for all areas except Lake Jackson. The authorities state that the residents in Lake Jackson are still urged to follow the Boil Water Notice until "the water system has been adequately flushed and samples indicate that the water is safe to use."

The tragedy wasn't new. Dating back to last year in September, a 10-year-old girl died a week after contracting the Naegleria fowleri while swimming in a river. Based on the CDC record, there are only four survivors out of 145 people who were infected with Naegleria fowleri from 1962 to 2018. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the brain-eating amoeba is commonly found in soil, warm lakes, rivers, and hot springs. It can also be found in poorly maintained or unchlorinated pools and in warm water discharge from industrial plants.

According to the CDC, while Naegleria fowleri infections are rare most are fatal. From 2009 to 2018, only 34 infections were reported in the United States but 30 people were infected by recreational water, meaning the water was still contaminated after treatment.

How can we get a reliable water supply at home? Is bottled water really the answer?

Maybe it's time to have a water filtration system installed at home. The purification industry has continued to provide more efficient ways of turning unclean water into clean, usable water by removing contaminants. One of these ways is the use of an under sink water filter. As one of the point-of-use, water filters for the sink is installed right at the place where you get water. It connects right to your waterline, and water is filtered directly through faucet or through the refrigerator. For many people who do not need a whole house water filtration system, undersink water filters may be a good choice for pure and healthy water. It offers a highly-efficient filtration process that removes harmful contaminants, leaving you with clean, filtered water for cooking and drinking. It is also less cumbersome and works 'on-demand.'

While there are so many different undersink water filtration products on the market, you need to do your research and find out the one that really fits with your home needs. As far as the most certain solution for healthy drinking water, a reverse osmosis water filtration system would be an ideal option for its excellent filtration performance. With the pore size of 0.0001micron, the reverse osmosis membrane pores are only big enough to allow the passage of water molecules while blocking other foreign components like pyrogens, bacteria, organics, and dissolved salts. Just in case you don't have a concept of the size in mind, the Amoeba proteus ranges in size between 250 and 750 microns. You can find more information about the reverse osmosis system here.

Another great option would be the filtration systems adopting the Ultrafiltration membrane with a pore size of 0.01 micron. It can easily filter off most of the same contaminants as the RO membrane, while keeping the dissolved minerals intact. Dissolved minerals can offer considerable health benefits. So, if you want the beneficial minerals to be retained in your home filtered water, this unit is right for you.

There are many other great water filtration systems, you can check more information from this blog talking about undersink water filtration systems. But all in all, water safety is our priority and it is a basic human right to access safe water. The government should take strict control and preventive measures to avoid accidents as we had in Lake Jackson. When it comes to water safety, we all have to pay extra attention and choose a clean, safe, and healthy water source to bulwark family health.