In Delmar, the water has not been without an odor in months, and many residents have taken matters into their own hands. Beginning in September, when a faint, yet unmistakable odor of mud was observed, the water quality has diminished markedly with some residents noting discoloration, and the smell – ranging from moldy to musty to “river bottom” mud – has been coupled with particles and masses: algae.
Neighbors and friends remark on the cost each week to purchase “clean” bottled water for cooking, bathing and washing, driving to other areas to wash their clothing, and taking showers at friend’s houses so was not to resemble “a mud puddle”.
Have you ever washed your clothing in a creek? Had the pleasure of drying that same clothing in a heated drier? It’s the combination that many parents of kids in sports will recognize: mildew swamp parfum, a mud-tinged fabric with lingering, perpetual damp. How pleasant. On our block, that’s what our clothing, hair and bodies smelled like for more than two months. Water that, frankly, would have been best left in a rain barrel with leaves and debris floating on top. There is decay in the air here.
When I began contacting the Town during the first week in October, I was initially directed to the water stations for answers. There, I left messages, and did not receive a call back. In November, I phoned the Town Water Department, and was informed that “if you were nicer we would give you the information”. Phone calls and emails from neighbors also went unanswered.
On December 4th, I emailed the town suggesting the media was my next contact. David VanLuven, town supervisor, and Dan Bolke, Depute Commissioner of Public Works emailed and phoned, respectively. Disappointingly, Daniel simply copied and pasted information from the Town website. I spoke to Dan directly about the particles in the water showing up, and others creating “blooms”, his response was “prove it”. His insistence that the water is safe was shallow and flat, backed up by simply, nothing.
On the weekend of December 14th, a clean water bottle left sitting in a cold car overnight developed such large growths not only was it alarming, it became obvious that action was required: a filtration system. After purchasing bottled water for months, I was not alone in taking to the next step to install filters. One family replaced their water heater, and paid nearly $2,000 for a new one. Another family had their house “flushed”. Yet another family, who’s clothing would not “get clean” despite multiple washings, had their laundry machines replaced.
We are tired of the unnecessary headaches due to a lack of transparency and facts, loss of integrity, lack of accountability, and overall disappointed in the town’s slow and shallow approach to a major health concern. Water from a puddle shouldn’t cost this much.
Jessica Dillon, Delmar
