The cause of the contaminated water at the new William Beaumont Army Medical Center in East El Paso appears to have been found and the water system is being fixed, officials announced Tuesday afternoon.
A valve failure in the hospital’s water softener system appears to have put brine, or salty water, into the water system, causing “limited piping corrosion,” which resulted in sediment contaminating and discoloring the water, officials said in a news release.
Meanwhile, the hospital on Monday reopened its emergency department to trauma patients and again allowed elective surgeries by using bottled water and having surgical instruments sanitized at another El Paso hospital, Beaumont officials reported.
Elective surgeries had been canceled and trauma patients diverted to other hospitals since April 7, after it was determined the water system had been contaminated with sediment.
This is the latest problem to plague the $1.5 billion Fort Bliss Army hospital complex. It opened in July after several years of construction problems, resulting in millions of dollars in cost overruns.
The hospital’s staff and maintenance engineers are working to remove the brine corrosion from the affected water system components and repairing the system, officials said Tuesday afternoon.
Once the system is repaired, a high-speed, directional water flush of the system is planned to remove sediment and any other debris from the system.
More: ‘Life safety’ problems found in new, repeatedly delayed William Beaumont Army Medical Center
After the flush is completed, the system’s water will be tested to confirm the water quality is back to normal, the news release stated.
Officials on Tuesday afternoon still did not know when the water system would be back to normal, a hospital spokesperson said.
The water system problem was first detected March 25 in one department. But on April 6, test results found the contamination was hospitalwide.
Tests also determined the system had no sewage and no pathogens or biological contamination, officials have said. The hospital’s external water supply from El Paso Water was not contaminated.
The 135-bed hospital, with an average daily census of 50 to 60 patients, is part of a mammoth complex, which includes clinic buildings and a research facility. It’s located on Fort Bliss land at Spur 601 and Loop 375.
The Beaumont commander, Army Col. Brett Venable, on April 6 determined the hospital’s water was not safe for drinking or to sterilize equipment.
The hospital provided bottled water to patients and staff for drinking and other uses, and had equipment sterilized initially at a Fort Bliss dental clinic and later at a campus of the Hospitals of Providence.
The hospital continued to care for patients and operate its emergency room for nontrauma patients.
Vic Kolenc may be reached at 546-6421; [email protected]; @vickolenc on Twitter.
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