Last August 2014, the Colcord, Oklahoma made national news in a not so positive way. Town officials advised residents not to drink water from the tap. Why? Bloodworms had invaded the water system and were flowing through the water lines into homes and businesses.
Something like that can only happen out west, right?
Well, it seems that Grove City once experienced a problem with blood worms.
The information comes from an undated clipping from a Columbus newspaper saved by Marilyn Gibboney. It took village officials about a week to rid Grove City’s water of the pest that would make its unwelcome presence known when residents filled a glass with water.
Restaurants in the downtown used a mesh cloth to catch the worms that would freely flow from the faucet preventing them from being served to customers.
Denny Brake, assistant water superintendent at the time, discovered the village booster pump was the problem. Once the pump was removed and cleaned the blood worm problem was resolved.
Bloodworms are a half inch in length and thrive in low-oxygen or polluted water. The health risks associated with ingesting blood worms were unknown, though they weren’t believed to cause adverse effects.
The worm’s pale skin allows their red body fluid to show through, hence, the name “bloodworm.”
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