Follow-up: Before brain-eating amoeba was found in a rural water district, Ascension Parish had

Before brain-eating amoeba was found in a rural water district, Ascension Parish had sought to boost chlorine in the system — a request DHH had rejected

The day after a brain-eating amoeba was discovered in a rural water district in Ascension Parish, the state rejected a previous request by the parish to proactively boost the level of disinfectant in the system.

The state Department of Health and Hospitals discovered the deadly Naegleria fowleri amoeba in a water sample it took Tuesday in Ascension Consolidated Utility District 1 on the west side of the Mississippi River.

In the midst of responding to the crisis, Ascension Parish, through its water-treatment consultant, received a letter the following day from DHH rejecting a request the parish had made earlier this month for a permit to install a chlorine “booster station,” said Ken Dawson, chief administrative officer of Ascension Parish government.

The parish had also wanted to do a proactive “chlorine burn,” injecting additional chlorine for several weeks throughout a portion of the water system.

Read more: http://theadvocate.com/news/13050990-123/before-brain-eating-amoeba-was-found

Earlier thread:
Brain-eating amoeba found in St. Bernard water system, DHH says