Legionella discovered in dirty shower water
A Mid-Levels resident says he is concerned about the quality of Hong Kong's water supply after he took a shower while workers were flushing out a water tank on his roof, and later found the water contained legionella bacteria and other contaminants.
Thomas Schmidt, a 42-year-old architect, said his shower water was clear when he began showering at around 10.30am on April 16. But he reopened his eyes after shampooing his hair to find himself and his tub were covered in metallic grit and coffee-coloured water.
Mr Schmidt, who lives in Block One at 10 Robinson Road, was not aware that workers were cleaning out the water tank on the roof of his building. A day later he felt as if he were coming down with flu. His eyes were itching and burning. Nausea and headaches followed.
To this day, he said, he has the taste of metal in his mouth. 'It tastes like I've been sucking on a coin, which is really odd.'
The Water Services Department took samples of the dark water on April 17, said Mr Schmidt, who is from Colorado in the United States and has lived in Hong Kong for 13 years. About a week later the report came back. The department had not tested for bacterial agents but found the water's iron content was 50 times higher than normal, he said.
About 10 days later, tests by an independent laboratory hired by Mr Schmidt showed a sample of the dirty water was full of metals, organic compounds and legionella.
Mr Schmidt's doctor had put him on antibiotics before it was known that legionella was in the water but had advised him to have the contaminated water tested for the organism.
'When I approached the independent lab to do that test they almost laughed at me,' he said. 'They said, 'don't even waste your time or money. There is such a minute chance of legionella being in your water supply' ... I think they were as shocked as I was when the results came back.
'I think the government needs to get its act together. I think they need to really clamp down on cleaning procedures.'
A Water Services Department spokesman said the sample that tested positive for legionella 'had been stored for 11 days and thus was devoid of any residual chlorine before being tested by the independent laboratory, which may adversely affect the validity of the test results. The complainant [Mr Schmidt] had been so advised before we handed over the remaining water sample.'
The department did inspect Mr Schmidt's building when it collected water samples for its own analysis, it said. 'Aged, galvanised iron water pipes in the building's plumbing were observed,' the department wrote in an e-mail.
Excess iron could discolour water but it was not a health concern, said David Cunliffe, principal water quality adviser at South Australia's Department of Health.
The Water Services Department spokesman, asked why Mr Schmidt's water source had been affected when workers were cleaning his building's water tank, said it had 'issued a letter to the [building's] management office advising them to carry out the necessary investigation'.
The Grand Panorama Management Office, which oversees Mr Schmidt's building, replied that the water tank was cleaned every three months 'in accordance with the recommendations of the Water Supplies Department'.
