http://www.cbs8.com/story/19045577/boy-dies-after-contracting-severe-infection-during-family-vacation

Poor little boy, has anyone heard anything about this? 

Maybe that's the reason why there's no swimming in the lake...

There's deadly bacteria and parasites in lots of lakes.

Never go swimming in a lake or other natural body of water if you have any cuts/sores. 

He SWAM in that lake???

Ewwwww.... 

Wow. Is our drinking water safe? Has the base released any information? 

If you live on base you should of received a report on the water a couple weeks ago. I wouldnt call the water that comes out of your tap drinking water. The base water is gross and I wouldnt give it to my dog if I had one. A few years ago I knew someone who lived in Serra Mesa and they started dropping off bottles of water and some corpmen going around collecting blood. This went on for a few weeks and than nothing the water and everything just stopped. The water stinks how can you even get past the order to drink it? 

Poor little boy. So sad. 

Got the report. Nothing in the report raised much of a concern, but not sure if this incident occurred before or after. We haven't had much of a problem with the water, but I know nothing about this bacteria.

What about showering, etc.? 

Your water is not drawn from the lake and pumped into your home.

Even if it was, it would be treated first. 

Um seems like they should do a bit more testing before jumping to flesh eating bacteria! A girl just contracted it in Ga after gashing her leg open in a river, it's scary stuff!
Poor family :( That would be so hard... 

There's an underground plume of contaminated water in the Santa Margarita basin but the level of the pollution that's "seeping" into the base wells is "acceptable" to the EPA.

So I guess it depends on what you'd consider "safe"? 

We don't know what happened unless something else was released. He might have fallen off a paddle boat. 

In the comments someone who was there, I'm assuming a family member, said he was sick before they went to the lake and he didn't go in the water. 

A few years ago I knew someone who lived in Serra Mesa and they started dropping off bottles of water and some corpmen going around collecting blood. This went on for a few weeks and than nothing the water and everything just stopped

Okay, maybe I'm tired or something, but this doesn't make any sense to me. I don't understand what you're trying to convey. What happened? 

Something about something being to high in the water, I dont remember what it was. But I was at her house dropping something off when someone came by to take some blood and I asked her about it. She said they were told to not drink the water and housing would provide water. Than without notice it all just stopped one day. So weird. This was before the PU came about, back in the day. 

Yeah the water there isn't safe to drink and there was free water in the housing office. At least there was a year ago. Base water isn't necessarily safe, look what happened in North Carolina and it took 30 years for anyone to acknowledge. http://abcnews.go.com/US/sick-families-nc-military-base-water-contamination-finally/t/story?id=16670758 

look what happened in North Carolina and it took 30 years for anyone to acknowledge.

30 years ago, they weren't sure the contaminants in the water were causing the illnesses being reported.

There wasn't the testing that goes on today, nor the knowledge of what certain chemicals can do to humans.

Things we eat & drink today may come back 30 years from now and say they are dangerous too. 

EPA had already designated parts of Lejeune/Camp Pendleton as contaminated superfund clean-up sites in the 1980's. That was only AFTER they went round and round with the government to GET access to the bases to test various areas.

They knew 30 years ago at LEAST. I lived on base in the 80's. Even then we didn't drink the water. 

Here's a nice little news nugget about Lejeune water victims bill fm 01 Jan 1957 to 31 Dec 1987.

Lejeune water victims bill blocked

I was born there and lived the first 5 yrs of my life there, 62-67. 

So sad, like the victims havent waited long enough to get help. I hope you are ok Ooorah. Sad to hear this kind of stuff in the news. Im sure the government was hoping it would just go away and they wouldnt have to do anything for the victims. We are a bottled water house. I dont even trust a brita filter for this water. Hopefully they get the bill passed right away. 

I agree with it being blocked because there's no way you can sort through the type of fraud that comes of class-action lawsuits. There could be thousands upon thousands of people who lived there that WERE'NT sick from the water, but they would still come forward if there is money to be gained. Who's going to sift through 30 YEARS of people's medical paperwork? Unfortunately the victims have to suffer further because of crooked people. 

They arent getting money, they are just getting medical to cover the problems from the water. Just like it said in the article there is already a investigation department who investigates all claims. The rep is just trying to block the bill. 

Its the governments fault these people are sick they need to do something about it. 

Its the governments fault these people are sick they need to do something about it.

When the pollutants were used and dumped, it wasn't known the problems it could cause.

Think of all the banned chemicals - DDT, agent orange, etc. the list goes on and on.

It's really not anyone's fault. It is what it is.

Not everyone who comes/came in contact with the chemicals have become ill. 

I should have read further down; but people can still use it for ill gains. He's only asking for better safeguards to keep people from defrauding. Someone could have cancer unrelated to the water and see it as their chance to get free treatment just bc they lived there. 

Swimming in Lake O'Neill is prohibited. If he was swimming in the lake, his family allowed him to do that illegaly. There are reasons why people are told not to do something, but they feel entitled to do it until someone gets hurt. 

We expect companies to pay people money when something makes them sick even if it wasnt known at the time. It shouldnt make a difference if it was known to make them sick or not, it has made them sick they should be covered medically. I couldnt imagine if it was someone in my family, a loved one. What if a family cant cover the medical costs? If this was a big company people would be livid and there would be no wait. 

If this was a big company people would be livid and there would be no wait.

Yes, there would be a wait - the family would have to sue the company for compensation. 

the family would have to sue the company for compensation.
Yes that is true but it would be different than suing the government. And the people obviously didnt know that that was the reason until recently. I just cant help but feel so bad for those family's. And it just makes me upset that the government can drag there feet on stuff like this. I know its life but it sucks. 

People are going to come forth with these health claims because it has been brought to their attention they can get free medical care because they were at the "wrong place" at the right time, and will start blaming all their medical issues on the contamination when they could have contracted it otherwise. I'm not saying, nor did I ever say they don't deserve it. ooorah69MP could say "oh I have gout, I was there, the contamination caused it, give me free medical". They're looking for medical records of people with medical issues consistent with contamination of those toxins during a certain time frame. Getting cancer 20 years after the fact requires further investigation. Plenty of people survived without so much as a hiccup hence the need for fraud protection.

Also, free medical costs more than they could pay out in a lump sum, as they would not pay out equal to healthcare costs for those affected. 

As of 731 PM tonight Senate passed it with the protection language "care for sick veterans can only be denied if it can be proven that the individual’s illnesses was not caused by exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune."