AUBURN - The city's recent boil water notice might have been prevented if not for a series of unfortunate factors, according to Frank DeOrio, director of municipal utilities.

DeOrio told the city council Thursday that a combination of the high temperatures, which tend to increase water usage, a water main break the previous week and a contractor near Springport who was using massive amounts of water on a project all helped to turn the filter failure at the water treatment plant into a bigger problem.

"We had everything going on that we wish we didn't, but we still maintained safety," DeOrio said. "We hope this is a once-in-our-lifetime episode."

DeOrio said the city had been working on a project to upgrade the rapid sand filters at the water treatment plant, after it was determined that there were structural problems with the original filters. One of the filters was off-line, when a second exploded.

The city called for an emergency backup filter, which ended up having a broken valve. DeOrio said the time lost fixing the faulty backup filter caused the city to lose even more water. While the reservoir can be filled to 24 feet, it had dropped to 16.8 feet by last Thursday, which is why the conservation order was issued, he said.

DeOrio said if the city is not able to keep the reservoir filled, it will cause a drop in water pressure. A drop in pressure could have affected the city's ability to fight fires or could have caused the pipes to collapse, he said. To prevent those problems, the city began to introduce unfiltered water into the system.

The unfiltered water was chlorinated. DeOrio said the city had performed water quality tests and he never felt as though the water was harmful.

"I don't believe at any time that the water was unsafe," he said. "The water we pull out of Owasco Lake is excellent quality water."

Health department regulations required the boil water order.

Mayor Tim Lattimore said he would have liked to have better communication throughout the process, saying that he had received numerous calls from concerned people.

Councilor William Jacobs said when the city was revising its emergency action plan, he had said the city should have a public information officer to address such emergencies.

"We still don't have that," he said. "We should have a voice for the city of Auburn."

DeOrio said the third rapid sand filter would be repaired by today. He said it was unlikely after the repairs that there would be another failure with the rapid sand filters.

In other news:

- Jerry Morgan, a candidate for Auburn City Council, returned for a second time to address the certificate of occupancy ordinance. All owners of multi-family dwellings are required to have an active certificate of occupancy. City officials have said the ordinance is generally only enforced if an expired certificate is discovered after a complaint is made.

Morgan lives in a duplex and said he doesn't believe owners who live on their own property should be impacted by the ordinance.

"It does not take into account owner-occupied houses, nor does it address the absentee landlords," he said. "Stop the abuse, address the issue, protect the right of citizens."

Lattimore also said he didn't think the occupancy issue should apply to people living in the homes they rent out.

"People who aren't in the business of being landlords ... I don't think they should fall under that," he said.

City Manager John Salomone said the issue is one of safety, helping ensure certain requirements are followed for renters.

"Whether it's one unit or 50 units, you have to rely on your landlord for that," he said.

Lattimore wanted a resolution created to change the ordinance, but Salomone said the council shouldn't make "a knee-jerk reaction" to a complaint. The issues will be discussed during a work session in a few weeks.

- Mark Anderson of Skaneateles attended the meeting after hearing that councilor Bob Hunter had been inspecting the outside of the properties he owns in Auburn. Anderson said he purchases houses in Auburn and restores them. He said his experiences with code enforcement have been "unpleasant."

- Councilors approved salary increases for Auburn Housing Authority civil service employees, its legal counsel and its executive director.

Staff writer Anne Gleason can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or

at anne.gleason@lee.net