This website details the response actions following the timely report of a possible water contamination incident following an act of vandalism at the 200,000-gallon water tank that serves the public water treatment plant for over 600 residents of Jamestown and Rio Vista, WY. The report made by the water utility operator, detailing the discovery of a rope left tied to the access ladder to the tank and a hatch that had been forcibly opened on top of the tank, was initially received by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 8 at 3:45 PM on Friday, April 9, 2010. Shortly after the evidence of vandalism was discovered by the operator, a "No-Use" water restriction notice was sent out to all customers served by the treatment system and alternative drinking water was supplied by the utility. A Unified Command (UC) structure was formed, which included Sweetwater County Emergency Management/Homeland Security, Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office, Sweetwater County Public Health/Community Nursing, Wyoming Region IV Regional Emergency Response Team, Wyoming Department of Health, Wyoming Homeland Security, Green River Fire Department, Sweetwater County Search & Rescue, EPA, and the Jamestown - Rio Vista Water and Sewer District. The UC determined that a complete characterization of the water in the tank was necessary to ensure the safety and welfare of residents. EPA dispatched a sampling team from Denver and arranged for laboratory analysis of the collected samples to search for the full spectrum of potential hazards in the drinking water. Analytical results have begun coming back and all thus far indicate the water supply to be free of contaminants. However, there are some tests that have not yet been completed, and so the UC has opted to keep the "No Use" order in place until all results have been received to ensure the safety of the residents of Jamestown and Rio Vista, WY. Final results were received Tuesday afternoon, April 13, 2010, at which time a decision was made by the UC to lift all water usage restrictions for the Jamestown / Rio Vista Water and Sewer District.
