Are there any environmental economists left in Greenville, NC? If so, get busy (Boil water ...):
Greenville Utilities has lifted a boil-water order for most of its service area, but officials say the cause of the contamination that led to the advisory may never be known.
The Daily Reflector of Greenville reports that the order was lifted about 5:20 p.m. Thursday for all areas except an isolated portion near County Home Road after tests from nearly three dozen sites revealed no contaminants.
Barrett Lasater, Greenville Utilities water and wastewater treatment plants manager, says the ban for the County Home Road area could be lifted Friday pending a second negative sample.
The utility issued the boil order around lunchtime Wednesday after testing verified fecal coliform bacteria was discovered in a sample taken from a County Home Road day care center. The discovery led the health department to order local restaurants to shut down.
At a day care center? Yuck. Happy parents? No.
Here is my attempt at the welfare loss (i.e., cost) of the boil water advisory:
- 75,000 residents in the Emerald City, most all in the GU service area (?)
- 31,250 households at 2.4 people per household
- 28 hours of boil water advisory
- Household averting expenditures at about $2/day (see an authoritative review paper)
- Total cost of the contamination episode = $62,500
