SANDY, Utah (KUTV) — Tuesday night, the Sandy City Council voted unanimously, 7-0, to launch its own investigation into the contaminated water crisis.
The meeting drew a larger-than-normal crowd as council members made a motion and debated how best to investigate how fluoride, lead and copper got into the city’s drinking water.
Tuesday night, the Sandy City Council voted unanimously, 7-0, to launch its own investigation into the contaminated water crisis. (Photo: KUTV)
Jodi Monaco lives in the most affected area.
“This is not just about notifying neighbors — did they notify the right agencies, were they monitoring at the right time, were they running the right tests, where they even doing their jobs?” Monaco said.
The council voted to hire a three-person technical expert committee to investigate emergency management practices, communication and the city’s compliance with regulatory requirements.
The experts will be people who don’t work for the city. The council is also considering appointing a public citizen committee to have investigative powers.
Monaco says she wants to be a part of it.
“These are our children, these are our homes, these are our pets, and we want to be involved,” Monaco said.
Mayor Kurt Bradburn again said Tuesday night that his staff did not notify him about enough information, soon enough. Though, Bradburn agrees with the actions of his bosses.
Mayor Kurt Bradburn again said Tuesday night that his staff did not notify him about enough information, soon enough. Though, Bradburn agrees with the actions of his bosses. (Photo: KUTV)
“I am in favor of as many citizens and as many agencies and as many outside consultants reviewing what happened,” Bradburn said.
The council wants the experts selected through an RFP process by the end of February. The money to pay for the investigation will come from the council’s contingency fund.
2News also uncovered important safety information was left off the warning letter that went to residents. The state requires certain language be added to notification letters sent to residents after a contamination is discovered. The mandate on the “DO NOT INGEST WARNING” that was removed on the letter that went to residents was, “Corrosive water may cause damage or irreparable impacts to the water system in your home including pipes, Hot water tanks, filters and water softeners.”
When asked whose decision it was to remove that phrase, Sandy Public Utilities Director Tom Ward said, “we had a collaborative conversation between the state, health department, and the city on that final decision.”
When asked whose decision it was to remove that phrase, Sandy Public Utilities Director Tom Ward said, “we had a collaborative conversation between the state, health department, and the city on that final decision.” (Photo: KUTV)
Marie Owens, the DEQ Drinking Water Director, said she remembers that phone call on Feb. 8.
“I recall telling Sandy officials that language needs to be included in the public notification,” Owens said.
Bradburn responded by saying, “the language was removed by us, so I’m trying to understand; it was not brought to my attention until recently, so I’m trying to figure out why we did that, why that was removed.”
*Original article online at https://kutv.com/news/local/sandy-city-council-will-hire-technical-experts-to-investigate-water-contamination
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