From reporter Alyssa Hyman at NBC5/WPTV: “E. coli found in Lake Osborne Estates Water”.

“I am flabbergasted. I am upset and now people are sick.” said [Kerri] Casper.

—Quote from news segment datelined Nov. 15th, 2016.

Remember, Lake Osborne Estates (LOE) is not
in the City of Lake Worth.

Back in 2016 LOE was getting its water from another water utility, US Water Services. Starting this year LOE will be getting its water from the Lake Worth Water Utility. To learn more about this situation use this link or scroll down to the following blog post.

Please pause momentarily for Alyssa Hyman’s video to load, click play, and following a short commercial message is the video from WPTV:



Below are two excerpts from this WPTV news segment datelined Tuesday, November 15th, 2016 [follow the timeline and more information in brackets]:

Hundreds of Lake Osborne Estates families are frustrated. Their water tested positive for E. coli [Escherichia coli], but they say their water company [US Water Services] didn’t notified them directly.
     The health department says the notification protocols seemed to be followed properly, it is now investigating the matter.
     The neighbors say they learned about the E. coli and boil water notice from the “Next Door” app [on Nov. 14th], a notice that came nearly five days after the water main break happened. [emphasis added]
     Now, many say they’re feeling sick.
     “This explains why our entire family has been deathly ill since Friday [Nov. 11th],” wrote one neighbor on the app.
     It’s the same app Kerri Casper used to find out the water she's been drinking has been contaminated with E. coli. It’s an app used to post neighborhood updates.
     “I am flabbergasted. I am upset and now people are sick.” said Casper. “Normally when we have a boil water, we have a notice on the door.”

and. . .

     The company said it notified the two required state agencies, one news station [CBS12/WPEC misreported the location] and the neighborhood’s association along with two schools. The spokesperson said they were following the direction of the Health Department.
     Though, even at that point not everyone in the Lake Osborne Estates got the message.
     “Only about a third of the residents are part of the association and we just can’t reach the entire neighborhood,” said the associations president Carlos Serrano. The neighborhood’s association is voluntary and not everyone is a member.
     Serrano said he got an email Monday [Nov. 14th] from the utility [US Water Services] and did his best to notify the 458 households through the app and social media. However, Serrano says it should have been the utility’s responsibility.
     “We feel US Water needs to do a better job distributing the notice,” said Serrano.

FYI: To learn how the City of Lake Worth’s Water Utility addresses “Boil Water Notices” use this link.

Please share this information with everyone you know who happens to live outside the City of
Lake Worth in that unincorporated area
called “Lake Osborne Estates”.