DDW-2025-010293

DDW Reports <[e-mail]>
Fwd: [Ext:] Re: Indianola MtgH (UT20073)
2 messages
Sitara Federico <[e-mail]>Thu, Oct 23, 2025 at 3:24 PM
To: DDW Reports <[e-mail]>
Please add these pictures into DEQDocs under emergency response with the email?
Thank you.
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Marie Elizabeth Owens <[e-mail]>
Date: Wed, Oct 22, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Subject: RE: [Ext:] Re: Indianola MtgH (UT20073)
To: Sarah Page <[e-mail]>
Cc: Sitara Federico <[e-mail]>, Ryan Dearing <[e-mail]>, James Greer <James.Greer@
churchofjesuschrist.org>, Brian Pattee <[e-mail]>
Thanks Sarah. I was able to talk to Sitara over the phone while we were on site yesterday and I decided that it wouldn’t
make any sense to collect the additional sample sites since the chlorinator between the well and the tanks was not
operational so it wouldn’t be representative of what we were looking for. I did take a complete inorganic and metals
sample from the well.

We are leaving the sinks in the bathrooms and mother’s room operational for sanitary purposes. Unless we find a reason
to be concerned with e.Coli in the water, it is safer from a public health standpoint to let the congregation wash their hands
with soap and that water in these areas. I also feel like we need to confirm the protozoa that was found in the well. It
seems more likely to me that it was a contaminated sample from a repair that occurred on the well previous to those
samples being taken, than that there is actually protozoa living in the aquifer. I have attached pictures of the postings that
they already had up for last Sunday’s services and will continue to be up until we better understand what is actually going
on here.

We did turn on the sacrament sink and the kitchen sink while we were there and flushed them and collected bacteria
samples from there. I was shocked to see how clear and color and smell free the water was especially considering what
we saw in the tanks. Those sinks were taken down again after I collected the samples. The well samples I collected were
also clear, color free, and odor free though a bit warm. We will see what the lab data shows but I don’t want to proceed
with the new chlorinator or even fixing the existing chlorinator until we have determined if additional treatment is really
needed on this groundwater.

I will be recommending an MPA and a protozoa sample and a repeat of the microbial study sample be taken on the well
as the next step. Please let me know what the cost of you running an MPA sample sooner than later will be. I will want to
meet your sampler there when that gets scheduled.

Marie

Sacrament sink

Kitchen

All drinking water Fountains (two sets)

Woman’s Restroom

Men’s Restroom

Mother’s room

From: Sarah Page <[e-mail]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2025 10:14 AM
To: Marie Elizabeth Owens <[e-mail]>
Cc: Sitara Federico <[e-mail]>; Ryan Dearing <[e-mail]>; James Greer <James.Greer@
ChurchofJesusChrist.org>; Brian Pattee <[e-mail]>
Subject: [Ext:] Re: Indianola MtgH (UT20073)

[External Email]
Hi Marie,

The Do Not Drink protocol makes sense given everything that we know. We will be including this in the Stipulated Order to
Disinfect that will be coming out. We will want confirmation that all water fixtures are disconnected aside from toilets.
Posting signs is not sufficient.

Regarding MPA tests, you are free to do your own MPA test this fall. If you and/or your contractors are not able to do this,
let us know and we will work on getting it on our schedule. You will be billed for this test. We plan to do an MPA in the
spring, per our policy.

I thought your analysis list looked good for today. I'd be very interested in what you learn. Please let me know if I can
provide any assistance.

Best,
Sarah
Sarah Page, PhD
Lead Drinking Water Treatment Specialist
Division of Drinking Water
P: [phone]
drinkingwater.utah.gov

On Thu, Oct 16, 2025 at 6:24 PM Marie Elizabeth Owens <[e-mail]> wrote:
My friends,

I need to apologize for not reviewing the microbial report on the Indianola well until Sitara sent the monitoring violation
for the August TCR samples. I had hoped that the installation of a second chlorine feed system at the effluent of the
tanks would resolve the short-term issues at this site and give us time to address the iron and manganese in the raw
water. However, when I saw that those samples showed:

1) protozoa, plant material, and a robust microbial community on the untreaded well sample from August, and
2) the report suggested a significant biofilm that is sequestering oxidized metals, and
3) when Jesse told me that he did collect repeat samples and a triggered sample at the end of September that all (but
one) came TC positive with no E. coli,

I became concerned that just adding more secondary disinfection would not help with actually protect the public from
the microbial and possible protozoan contamination and may cause unintended consequences with the metals.
Therefore, we have decided to initiate a Do Not Drink protocol (matching that used at East Erda and Rush Valley) at
this site for the short term.

We ordered a chlorinator several weeks ago and anticipate it will be delivered in the next couple of weeks.

I would like to confirm the presence of protozoa and other surface water indicators in the well.

Sarah has suggested that the ammonia levels in the well water will be a problem to overcome, and I am also
concerned about the fact that the well “burps methane”.

I would like to talk with our internal team about conducting an alternative study for this site. Alternatives that have
already been identified are:
full surface water treatment including metals removal,
drilling a new well if better water quality can be found,
ongoing hauling for building use leaving the well for landscape irrigation and fire protection,
decommissioning the site,
others?

Sitara, I know that this Do Not Drink posting doesn’t cover the public notification on the monitoring violation but I didn’t
want to confuse the Do Not Drink information with that notification. If you don’t already have the repeat/triggered
sample results, we will get them to you next week. Please let me know how we can best resolve this violation with
everything discussed above.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts and concerns with all of this and thank you for your support.

Marie E. Owens, P.E.
United States Drinking Water Specialist

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
MFD, Natural Resource Services
50 East North Temple St.
Salt Lake City, UT 84150-0012

Email: [e-mail]
Mobile: [phone]

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