Water foreman Donnie Owenby, who had been with the city for more than 20 years, was fired last week following a two-week investigation. The investigation examined procedures followed by city employees in collecting samples for testing by the Department of Natural Resources. Warrenton Director of Operations Terri Thorn confirmed Owenby's dismissal but declined to comment further, noting she could not discuss personnel issues. Owenby also declined to comment. Sources said Owenby was suspended with pay on April 24, pending the outcome of the special investigation. He remained on suspension until his dismissal May 7. The error in water sample collection procedures was first noticed by Warrenton Public Works Director Rob Hamlin on April 15, according to a report issued to city officials. Hamlin noted large amounts of chlorine in samples obtained from well No. 7, one of the city's primary supplies of drinking water. Well No. 7 supplies a 1 million gallon water tower. When Hamlin questioned Owenby about the amounts, sources said, Owenby told the public works director he routinely followed the procedure during periods when high volumes of water were used. Two days later, on April 17, sources said Owenby met with Hamlin and Thorn and confirmed his use of chlorine about a week prior to his obtaining water samples sent to DNR. At that meeting, sources also said Owenby admitted he sometimes submitted water samples from non-DNR approved sites in an effort to provide a better chance of them passing DNR tests. DNR officials said they do not routinely recommend the use of chlorine treatment for any city water samples, which they test monthly. Later that day, Hamlin and Owenby collected new water samples from all the DNR-approved site locations. The samples remained in Hamlin's possession, sources said, until they were delivered to an independent lab for testing. The tests showed all water samples were safe and within DNR specifications. The lab concluded there was no problem with the city's drinking water supply. But city officials, alarmed over samples being taken from non-approved sites, launched their own investigation into the process. Board of aldermen President Fred Flake, Ward 2, headed the investigation. Ward 1 Aldermen Phil Tallo and Jerri Cullom were also on the committee. "Our committee concluded there were variations in the collection of the water samples," said Flake. "But at no time was there any danger to the safety of the public drinking water supply." The committee also recommended the city adopt a new eight-point procedure to be followed in the future. Aldermen unanimously approved the recommendation last week at their regular meeting. "We want to make sure this can not happen again," said Warrenton Mayor Greg Costello. "The city took this matter very seriously and took the necessary actions to fully investigate both how and why it happened."