A worm was found in water at Block 472, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10. A resident told Shin Min Daily News that her maid had seen a worm in the water that came out of the tap when she was washing a child’s milk bottle earlier this month on 6th December.
The maid then told the Chinese newspaper that she thought it was food at first before realising it was actually a 4 to 5 cm live worm. Startled, she then ran into the living room to inform her employer.
Understandably, the employer who wanted to be known only as Ms Zhang, was concerned over the discovery. Being a mother of three young children, she’s now worried about the cleanliness of the water. Since the incident, the family has been drinking only boiled water.
After the incident, Ms Zhang alerted the town council. Two officers were sent to her flat the same night to conduct some cleaning.
Unfortunately, another resident in that same block also had a wormy encounter. A few weeks ago, Mr Lin said that his wife saw a worm in the toilet. They weren’t too concerned as it was only in the bathroom and they already use a water filter for drinking. However, Mr Lin noted to Shin Min that he’s been paying closer attention to the cleanliness of the water from now on.
Following the report, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) and Ang Mo Kio Town Council issued a joint statement to say that “the water supply from the resident’s unit was found to be clean and clear during the town council’s checks. Subsequently, AMKTC checked the water tanks and the pump room on 7 Dec and no worms were observed.”
AMKTC also said that they sent officers to clean the pump room and water tanks anyway as an additional precaution.
The statement added that apart from the two residents mentioned above, they had not received similar alerts from other households in the aforementioned Block 472.
PUB also added that based on the photo provided by the resident who a worn in her kitchen sink, it was likely an earthworm that could have come from the surrounding area.
Judging by the fact that the checks showed no evidence of worms infesting the water tanks in that block, PUB’s explanation seems plausible. The question is, at which point in the water system would the earthworm have managed to sneak into the pipes? Hopefully, PUB will undertake further investigations to figure this out.
