When Eldon’s latest boil order was issued on June 2, citizens immediately began asking questions.
The biggest question was simple: If the original water sample was taken on May 20, why did it take so long for a boil order to be issued?
MOFreePress was asked by multiple residents to investigate.
To get answers, we contacted Lance Dorsey, Compliance and Enforcement Chief Supervisor with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Central Field Office in Jefferson City.
According to Dorsey, the sample collected on May 20 was Eldon’s routine monthly bacteriological sample. The sample tested positive for total coliform bacteria.
Under state regulations, the City then had 14 days to collect a repeat sample.
That repeat sample was collected on June 1, twelve days later, and tested positive for E. coli.
When asked why the City waited nearly two weeks to collect the repeat sample, Dorsey said, “I’m not sure why. It was within the 14 days.”
For many residents, that answer may not be satisfying. However, DNR confirmed the repeat sample was collected within the timeframe allowed by state regulations.
The investigation did not uncover evidence of a cover-up, misconduct, or a major scandal surrounding the latest boil order.
Instead, it revealed something arguably more concerning: nobody appears to know exactly why the contamination continues to occur.
When asked what would need to happen to stop the repeated boil orders, Dorsey’s answer was direct.
“We are asking them to install permanent disinfection, which is chlorination, chlorinating the water,” he said. “Because there is no obvious reason, something you can point to and go aha that’s where the contamination is getting in or that’s what caused the contamination or there’s the problem. Nothing to point to. We’re asking them to put on permanent chlorination.”
In other words, regulators have not identified a smoking gun.
There is no broken valve, failed treatment component, or obvious source of contamination they can point to and say, “That’s the problem.”
Many residents believe the age of Eldon’s water system may be part of the answer.
According to the Miller County Historical Society, Eldon’s water infrastructure began in 1916 and expanded throughout the 1920s. While the system has undergone numerous upgrades and maintenance projects over the years, concerns about aging infrastructure continue to surface whenever another boil order is issued.
When asked whether aging infrastructure could be contributing to the problem, Dorsey did not dismiss the possibility.
“Even with the best materials you might only have 75 to 100 year lifespan,” he said. “So, is it possible that the aging infrastructure is one of their problems, yeah.”
That may be the most important statement to come out of this investigation.
The people of Eldon have spent years hearing about upgrades, repairs, maintenance projects, and improvements. Yet the boil orders continue.
At some point, the conversation may have to move beyond asking how the next problem will be fixed and start asking whether the system itself has reached the point where patchwork solutions are no longer enough.
Citizens wanted MOFreePress to investigate a possible scandal.
What we found was something different.
The real question facing Eldon isn’t whether officials followed the rules after a contaminated sample.
The real question is whether residents are willing to keep paying for upgrades while hoping the next repair solves the problem, or whether it is finally time to have a serious conversation about replacing the system itself.
Because if the cause still cannot be identified after another boil order, residents may eventually decide that finding the source of the problem is no longer enough.
They may start demanding a solution.