Worms Threaten Drinking Water In Illinois

Ratepayers in Villa Grove, IL, are demanding answers about the possibility of worms in their tap water, fearing a sequel to a worm infestation last year.

“Last year, a boil order was issued after midge fly larvae were found in the public water supply,” The News-Gazette reported. The worms entered people’s homes through their faucets.

The boil-water notice, issued in October, stated that the advisory covered “the City of Villa Grove and the Village of Camargo, until further notice, due to the discovery of midge fly larvae in the water treatment system. They are harmless to humans. To alleviate this issue, clear wells will be flushed, water towers will be overflowed and high chlorine will be added to the water.”

The boil-water notice has since been lifted. This instance was not the first case of drinking water contaminated by midge fly larvae. Ratepayers in Concord, OK, faced a similar struggle last August. In Oklahoma, a city councilman explained “that city water was turned back on after workers cleaned, drained and re-cleaned the water tower,” The Associated Press reported.

The presence of midge fly larvae is a red flag for water quality, according to Live Science.

“Though the worms themselves are harmless if swallowed, a large infestation of bloodworms may be indicative of other water quality issues — because of their hemoglobin content, bloodworms can thrive in polluted water with low oxygen levels,” the report said.

In Illinois, ratepayers fear that the larvae problem is back. At a recent city council meeting, one woman displayed a preserved worm she claimed she recently located in her sink, The News-Gazette reported.

“We need something fixed in our system and not just flushed,” the woman said.

The city says the water is safe to drink.

At the council meeting, officials stood by the action they took in October. They said that the previous issue “was dealt with, and a boil order was not issued [after the meeting]. The town's water plant is more than 80 years old, and there are plans to replace it. But some say that process isn't moving fast enough,” Illinois Homepage reported.

“The city says it could be years before a new water plant is up-and-running. They say their goal is to have it built by spring 2018. It's expected to cost around $4 million. The council says they're not optimistic about getting grant money from the state to help with that. They say that could slow the process down,” the report said.

At the council meeting, city aldermen directed public works officials to collaborate with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to resolve the new issue. They also floated the possibility of bringing in a consultant to address the problem if it is not resolved promptly, according to The News-Gazette.

When larvae showed up in Villa Grove’s drinking water last year, famed environmental activist Erin Brockovich summed up the situation like this: “This is the United States of America. This is 2015. What in the hell is going on?”

For similar stories visit Water Online’s Drinking Water Contaminant Removal Solutions Center.