Unsafe Drinking Water Found At County Building

KEVIN HALPERN, Courier Co-Editor


Unsafe Drinking Water Found At County Building
A building which is home to multiple county departments and agencies has been found to have water which is not suitable for drinking.

The drinking water at the Adams Office Building at 301 West Main St. was tested by Planning, Design & Research Engineers, Inc. (PDR) of Nashville.

The Adams Office Building currently houses the Cannon County Health Department, Cannon County Schools Central Office, Cannon County Emergency Medical Services, Cannon County Election Commission, Cannon County Veteran's Affairs, Cannon County SAVE, Cannon County Food Bank and Cannon County Human Resources Agency.

Analytical results from the testing done by PDR Engineers were provided to Cannon County Administrator of Elections Stan Dobson.

"The water sample that you had brought to the office had a distinct corrosion color and therefore, we had it analyzed for metal content," the PDR Engineers' report states.

"The analytical results indicate that the water is not of drinking quality. It has a high level of iron, lead, manganese and copper. It may also have other compounds that were not tested to minimize the cost. It appears higher concentration may be due to the older plumbing in the building."

Dopson said the building is at least 70 years old. According to the election administrator, it is his understanding it has twice been condemned.

The election office, where early voting is held, has been found to have a number of serious "unsafe or unheathful" working conditions over the last few years by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Cannon County Executive Mike Gannon said he received the report by PDR Engineers today (Monday) and had not yet had the opportunity to fully study the findings. While not specifying an amount, Gannon said replacing the plumbing at the Adams Office Building would cost the county "a lot of money."