aphed report that didn't circulate much beyond the EID board of directors. It shows bird droppings, dead frogs and birds, beer bottles, the footprints of human swimmers, runoff from horse and cattle pastures and animal skeletons in the reservoirs. "If an infected cow, while grazing, defecates into the drinking water stored in this reservoir," states the caption to one photo in the report, "the water becomes contaminated with literally millions of Cryptosporidium organisms." Water quality experts say chlorine does not kill cryptosporidium, an intestinal parasite that was responsible for an outbreak that infected 400,000 people in 1993 in Milwaukee. Chlorine generally kills viruses but does not completely kill giardia. El Dorado County health officials say that so far this year they documented six cases of giardia and two of cryptosporidium, some of them from Lake Tahoe, which is not in the EID service area. Those numbers are no higher than documented in previous years, they said, and investigations usually show that victims have been swimming in rivers or drinking from streams while backpacking. But Reimer said she hadn't been backpacking in five years when she got giardia. It made her "sicker than a dog," too sick to even care for her 2-year-old for two weeks. "I lost 10 pounds and I got to the point where I was having contractions," she said. "I called EID and said the only water I drank is your water. How did I get giardia? They said we treat all our water. ... They told me I was crazy." Other EID customers say they're regular drinkers of bottled water. "We haven't drunk any of that water for four or five years," said Wave Baxter of Diamond Springs, whose groceries at a Placerville Lucky store included a large bottle of water. "The last time I set a glass on the container and turned around to look the bottom was full of sand." But board member Larsen, who lives in Camino, said he drinks the water with no qualms. "I know the pictures a...
