VA Center shut off water Friday to flush lines

An abundance of caution is the reason the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs decided to flush lines inside the Lawton Fort Sill Veterans Center in East Lawton.

OVA Director of Communications Jennifer Bloomfield said water inside the center was turned off about 7:45 a.m. Friday to allow officials to treat the water system and ensure no problems remain from the legionella found at several sites when the center’s water system was tested. Officials said earlier this week they tested the center’s water system after a patient was taken to a local hospital with signs of pneumonia, and testing revealed the problem was Legionnaire’s disease.

Bloomfield said mid-morning Friday that officials had begun injecting the chemical shock solution into the water system and that solution would be allowed to set for 24 hours, before the tanks were drained, the water tested again, then the tanks re-soaked for another 24 hours. The process will involve all 717 water outlets in the center, with water service expected to be fully restored by dinner time Sunday, she said.

“This is a best practice recommended by the CDC. We were not required to do this,” Bloomfield said, adding the treatment is being done through “an abundance of caution” to ensure all residents and staff are fully protected.

She said internal processes also are being developed to ensure the situation — and length of water shutdown — doesn’t happen again.

“The policy is being drafted to avoid the length of what we experienced the first time around,” she said, adding staff thought they had to wait until test results came back before restoring water service. 

OVA has ensured water is available for residents during this treatment process, Bloomfield said, explaining portable showers have been offered by Lawton Fire Department to allow residents to bathe, and the Flower Mound Fire Department has provided water for sanitation needs, including flushing toilets. Bottled water is being provided for drinking, washing hands, cooking and sanitizing cookware.

“We’re still providing hot meals and contract laundry service,” she said. “There is no compromise of care.”

Bloomfield said OVA Director James Bynam spent Thursday night and Friday morning at the Lawton center to monitor the situation first-hand.

“He stayed in the home, ate breakfast there and will be there through noon today (Friday),” she said.

OVA Deputy Director Shawn Kirkland said Tuesday that testing done at various sites within the center revealed several were positive for legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaire’s disease. He said the bacteria found “strictly comes through water sources, water that has been setting, a faucet that has not run for a long time.” Health officials say chlorine dissipates from water that doesn’t move for long periods of time, and remaining chlorine is insufficient to kill bacteria.