Water

SOUTH BEND — The family of a 10-year-old girl who fell into the St. Joseph River is saying thanks to their hero, a 9-year-old boy named Donrell, but that's all they know about him. It all happened late Monday evening and the family is still counting their blessings and thanking their little hero "Thank you for pulling me out of the water, because if he wasn't there I would have died," Alexandra Gomez said. Alexandra and her family walk by the East Race in South Bend whenever they can, but on Monday the walk became a near disaster while Alexandra was playing on the rocky ledge next to the river.

The town of North Liberty is asking its residents to boil water before using due to a water main repair issue Tuesday. A representative from the town of North Liberty said that the town will be on a boil order until further notice for safety. Crews need to perform several tests before clearing the water safe to drink again.  

Some 600 water customers in the town of Bristol are being advised to boil their water before drinking it for the next three days. Town Manager Bill Wuthrich says a valve on the town water tower failed about noon Wednesday, causing the pressure inside to drop. While the valve has been fixed, state rules require a “boil advisory” to be issued. A boil advisory has also been issued for Argos. Stay with WSBT.com for details on that advisory.    

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY -- Taking a dip in a lake is a summer staple around our area -- but look before you leap -- some lakes in our area are experiencing high counts of something health officials are calling "toxic algae. " Seven Indiana lakes have been identified as having high amount of blue-green algae -- which can make you or your pets sick if you happen to ingest the water or don't bathe yourself properly after swimming. Two of those seven lakes are in our area: Worster Lake at Potato Creek State Park and Sand Lake at Chain O' Lakes State Park.

NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) — Officials in New London, Conn., turned off the water at the city's new waterfront fountain over the weekend, because people have been using it as a toilet. The fountain was activated last month and features a sculpture of a whale's tail with water spilling over it, which visitors are encouraged to run through. City Councilor Michael Buscetto III tells The Day of New London that since the fountain opened, police have responded to calls of people urinating, defecating and showering in the fountain water.

Some gauges along the St. Joseph River show the it has never been this low in recorded history.  It stood at 4.33 feet in Niles Wednesday, setting a new record low. And in Elkhart it tied with the record low. The National Weather Service tells us the river is severely strained right now trying to meet all the irrigation and municipal water needs. That's the situation with surface water, but we're in much better shape with water underground.  We're told by experts that thanks to the glaciers leaving behind huge storage areas, the aquifer in St. Joseph County is plentiful and not under any strain right now.    

ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a boat capsized in the chilly waters of Lake St. Clair, leaving one man dead and another hospitalized. The U.S. Coast Guard says someone called 911 about 4:30 p.m. Saturday about two men aboard an 18-foot boat sinking in the lake. A Coast Guard boat crew from St. Clair Shores went to the scene and pulled the men from the water. The Coast Guard says both men were wearing life jackets. The Macomb County Sheriff's department says 37-year-old Hassen Randel of Eastpointe died.

This week's rain is doing a lot of good, considering most of the summer we've dealt with drought conditions. South Bend has received more than 5 inches of rain during July, and most of it recently. For those hoping to bring their yard back to life, the secret is watering, then fertilizing. Richard Latosinski had given up on watering because his yard has no shade. Now that rain is back, he's hoping his yard and plants will also come back.    Greg Leyes from Ginger Valley in Granger says most will as long as they keep getting water “If you got an inch of water a week, then the grass will have enough water in the roots to use that fert,” said Leyes.

COLOMA, Mich. -- In a news release issued Monday afternoon, officials identified the man who was pulled from Lake Michigan in Hagar Township Park Sunday. Robert Klepacki, 44, of Wheeling,Illinois started having trouble in the water around 2:40 p.m. Officials say he was at the beach with a woman who lost sight of him and started yelling for help. Rescuers were there in about four minutes. A Coast Guard helicopter eventually spotted Klepacki. After about 90 minutes in the water, he was pulled out and pronounced dead at the scene.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) - Western Indiana police say a county parks department worker died when a lawn mower flipped over in a pond, trapping him underwater. The Tribune-Star of Terre Haute reports (http://bit.ly/p4CAUb) that Earl Slavens of Terre Haute died Monday morning in the accident at Prairie Creek Park in southern Vigo County. Vigo County Detective Tim Osburn says Slavens was apparently mowing along the pond when the riding mower became stuck in the water.