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MOLLY MOORHEADOfficials are concerned about contaminated drinking water in rural areas.
PORT CHARLOTTE - With water flowing again through the most populated areas of the counties crippled by Hurricane Charley, health officials have shifted their concern to potential water contamination in rural areas.
Out in the swamps and the woods, in places like Bunker in DeSoto County and Peace River Shores in Charlotte, private wells are the main source of water. But many residents remain without power and run the risk of having bacteria-laden groundwater mixing with wellwater.
While no contamination has been detected so far, residents "should boil water if they can, and if they can't, they should get word to somebody that they need bottled water," said Billy Harrison, an environmental specialist for the DeSoto County Department of Health.
DeSoto County officials estimate about 12,000 homes in the county have private wells. The county health department, along with those in Charlotte and Hardee counties, is offering free testing of water samples from private wells.
Officials are passing out small plastic pouches and instructions on how to collect a clean sample. The county sends the water to a lab in Tampa for testing. Residents are notified of the results in about two days.
But some wells, mainly along the low-lying banks of the Peace River, are still submerged so testing would be useless. Other people, like Bette Brewer, can't draw a sample until they have power again.
Brewer collects rainwater to be able to flush the toilet. Shelby Vick and her family "shower" under the roof drain when it rains. Karen Slorp used her above-ground pool for a makeshift reservoir for five days.
"You do anything you have to do to get water," said Brewer, who lives in Bunker, off State Road 70.
Brewer's stilt house sustained minimal damage when the storm struck Aug. 13. But the power line went down and her well stopped running. She has a generator to power fans, lights and the refrigerator.
To bathe, Brewer stands in the tub and fills a bucket with bottled water. She dumps a cup of it over her head, soaps up and rinses with another cup.
So far in DeSoto and Charlotte, only a handful of kits to test private well have been picked up. "People are just getting back, so it's not very many," said Winston Anderson, an environmental supervisor in Charlotte.
None of the few samples that have come back have shown contamination, officials say.
But Elizabeth Jordan, head of nursing at DeSoto Memorial Hospital, said the water crunch has contributed to various health problems.
More people than normal have checked in with urinary tract infections because of dehydration and an inability to bathe often enough. Several women went into preterm labor because of dehydration immediately after the storm though health care workers were able to prevent any premature deliveries, Jordan said.
Even as Charley's landfall surprised many in southwest Florida, some far-flung residents said they're used to nature's tendencies. They prepared and adapted.
Brewer's son-in-law, Dan Livingston, 30, equipped his house with four generators. One of them is powering his water well. "Living out here in the country, we just know about it," Livingston said.