Mid-afternoon of October 26, 2021 a crew replacing power poles along the side of the road going up the hill northwest of Schreiber’s residence (4973 Hwy 31) contacted and broke the 6” main water line.
A “stop use” order was provided by email, and telephone where email was not possible.
The FCID’s onsite commander recognized the possibility of back flushing the line using the emergency pump. Based on his observations and reports from others involved, back flushing was deemed to be unnecessary and ineffective.
At 6:18 pm, to the chair of the FCID by return email, the pipe fitter involved in the repair noted the need to flush the system to clear any sediment that could have entered the pipe. In an effort to flush the pipes, and demonstrate that the water was free from sediment, the purge points at the south ends of the main lines on both the east and west sides of highway 31 were used to run water freely. Using his knowledge and experience in the conduct of routine chlorine shock treatments, the operator ran water freely from both purge points until the lines were purged and the water appeared clear of sediment.
The system was returned to service at 7pm of the same day. The BOIL WATER NOTICE was emphasized in the email and telephone announcement giving the water users the “go ahead” to use water.
A water sample taken at 8am on 2021-10-27, the following morning, showed the turbidity 0.26 NTU, which is in range for the time of year and well below the drinking quality guideline be less than 1 NTU.
Recorded by: Neil Kelly on 2021-10-27