For Joe Southern, taking a shower had never been so lethal.

Southern, a 66-year-old Alabama man, along with his wife Linda was visiting his newborn grandchild at his daughter’s Mandeville home in the Meadowbrook Subdivision last Friday.

Near 10 a.m., Southern decided to take a shower in an upstairs bathroom, daughter Joanna Guilbault said. Not long after her husband went upstairs, Southern’s wife decided to take a shower as well, only in a different upstairs bathroom in the home at 79 Spanish Moss Court.

After starting her water, a strong odor of chlorine filled the bathroom, sickening Linda and burning her eyes and throat. Not knowing what was happening, she left the bathroom immediately to seek help from her daughter.

Still unaware of where the intense chlorine stench had originated, the two decided to check on Southern.

They found him sitting on the floor of the shower gasping for air.

They managed to get him moved to the bedroom bed, where he became unresponsive, Guilbault said, adding she immediately called 911.

The noxious fumes were so intense both women experienced severe burning of the eyes and throat. Linda even vomited because of the powerful chlorine odor.

Emergency crews arrived and determined the Guilbaults’ tap had been polluted with an abundance of liquid chlorine.

H20 Systems, the water supplier to the Meadowbrook subdivision and surrounding areas, flushed the system’s water supply and discovered the cause of the excessive chlorine.

The Sharp Road well site, situated directly behind the Guilbault’s home, had malfunctioned for an unknown reason.

The pump that draws the water from the underground artesian well stopped working sometime that morning. The water is pumped into a holding tank where another pump distributes a limited amount of chlorine to the water for purification.

When the water pump malfunctioned, the chlorine pump was supposed to stop pumping the toxic chemical into the holding tank. It malfunctioned too, Field Technician Ronald Lloyd said, and continued pumping chlorine into the tank, making a toxic soup that was released onto Southern when he showered.

Southern was diagnosed with chemical pneumonitis, burning of lung tissue from chemical exposure, and remains in intensive care in stable condition but unable to sustain adequate oxygen levels without the aid of additional oxygen.

Doctors are expecting a full recovery, but the Guilbaults are concerned about the long-term effects the chlorine exposure may have.

H20 Systems closed the well site and will not reopen it until an investigation is complete.

The water running to the houses in the area is reportedly safe, but the Guilbaults and nearby neighbors are still dealing with unexpected bursts of chlorine odors coming from their tap. Their three small children, ages 1 month, 2 years and 4 years, are still experiencing eye irritations whenever they’re given a bath. The family, along with neighbors like Kim Durr, also had clothes and towels bleached from the tap water.

Officials with H20 Systems continue to test the Guilbaults’ water, but the readings are normal with below normal chlorine traces, Lloyd said Tuesday afternoon.

The pockets of chlorine that continue to spontaneously pollute their water are still a mystery, Lloyd said, but they are continuing their investigation into it.