U.S. Water News Online
PHOENIX -- A lawyer representing the families of two boys who died after exposure to contaminated water has filed a complaint with Maricopa County over the water quality in their homes.
Lawyer Roger Strassburg filed a complaint with the county's Environmental Services Department on behalf of the families of Zach Stalls and Davy Luna.
Both 5-year-old boys died in October after exposure to water contaminated with a deadly microorganism, Naegleria fowleri.
Since the deaths, three of seven water samples that Maricopa County sent to labs from the Peoria and Rose Valley water systems and a refrigerator filter at one of the children's homes have tested positive for the microorganism.
Strassburg said independent tests revealed that water taken June 23 from one of the Stalls' spigots contained virtually no chlorine.
The sample was tested by Precision Analytical Laboratories in Phoenix, he said.
Strassburg is also representing the families in lawsuits against the water company.
Rose Valley spokeswoman Suzanne Pfister said the company tests its water daily.
``Whenever a customer has a concern about the water, Rose Valley will test it. In this case, the family didn't call Rose Valley, they called the county,'' Pfister said.
Company officials have said the firm followed the letter of the law in terms of county requirements for water quality testing and drinking water safety, which does not require small, private water companies to chlorinate.
Since the deaths, the company started chlorinating its water.
And county tests conducted June 24 on water taken from both the families' homes revealed double the level of chlorine needed to kill the deadly bacteria, said officials with the county's water and waste management division.
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