Water distribution becomes a way of life in Alamosa.

By RUTH HEIDE

ALAMOSA — The San Luis Valley’s top story of the year was in the water.

This spring literally hundreds of San Luis Valley residents became ill - and one died - as a result of a salmonella outbreak linked to Alamosa’s municipal water supply.

By official estimates as of May 1, 417 salmonella cases had been reported of which 116 were culture confirmed, 20 people had been hospitalized, and 1 person had died. Many other cases were never confirmed medically.

Alamosa County Nursing Service Director Julie Geiser first discovered the problem in mid-March, and city officials began encouraging city residents to drink bottled water as a precautionary measure. Once the link between the salmonella outbreak and the city’s water supply was confirmed, however, the bottled water order became more than precautionary.

The city then commenced a system-wide flush with levels of chlorine so elevated that residents were advised not to use city water for any purpose while the chlorine flush occurred.

During the city’s water emergency many volunteers from throughout the city, surrounding areas and the state offered their assistance to the city and its residents in a variety of ways ranging from technical assistance with the chlorine flush and investigation into the salmonella contamination to donations of large quantities of potable water.

Water distribution sites were set up throughout Alamosa where residents could pick up bottled water or fill their own containers with potable water. Since the East Alamosa water system was not affected, residents also acquired water there.

City water customers were advised of the various stages of water restrictions with notices of varying colors distributed by volunteers throughout neighborhoods in the city limits.

The city finally received the all-clear signal to resume human consumption of its water on April 11.

The exact source of the contamination was never pinpointed.

Chlorine levels in the city’s water supply remained elevated well into the summer, and Geiser continued to report new cases of salmonella resulting from contact with infected persons rather than directly from the water. As part of the promotion of cleanliness to avoid infection, city officials provided education on proper hand washing and the local City Market handed out free containers of hand wipes to customers.

The salmonella outbreak created a ripple effect throughout Alamosa as business owners were hampered or even temporarily shut down because they could not use city water in their operations.

Although those associated costs were never tallied, the costs of the salmonella outbreak were estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Late in the year the city was still dealing with the aftermath of the incident. More than 40 claims for damages ranging from $100 to $1 million were filed with the city including claims from the family of the single fatality, Romeo resident Larry Velasquez, Sr., 55.