4 days ago
Regional Water lifts boil advisory for one city, others remain under restrictions
AVOCA, Iowa — Weeks after issuing the initial boil advisory, the Regional Water Rural Water District has announced the drinking water boil advisory is lifted for one southwest town, while the rest remain under restriction pending further testing.
The initial advisory went into effect on May 14th and covered several cities throughout southwest Iowa. On June 1st, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources announced that the advisory was lifted for Avoca. The lift only applies to Avoca; the rest of the cities remain under advisory pending results from recent samples. Regional Waters says those samples are estimated to be completed on June 3rd.
Two water samples must test negative for bacteria to lift a boil advisory. Regional Water says almost 80 sampling points have been required to be collected and tested due to the systemwide pressure loss.
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Regional Water's water tower system maintained pressure throughout the weekend and says that the community's water conservation practices have proven helpful in filling the towers.
Regional Waters asks the community to continue their efforts to conserve water even as advisories and restrictions could lift in the coming weeks. They say due to drought conditions in southwest Iowa, water availability will remain a concern until a temporary booster station is in place.
'The completion of a temporary booster pump between the region and Council Bluffs was delayed last week due to wet weather. However, in the last few days the area was dry enough to continue pipeline construction and testing; barring any unforeseen circumstances, Regional Water hopes the connection between Council Bluffs and Regional Water's system will be completed around June 11,' the Iowa DNR said in release.
Residents are reminded that if water use exceeds capacity and the towers lose pressure, a boil advisory will go into effect again. Regional Waters asks residents to continue limiting water use.
Limit or avoid watering or irrigation of lawns.
Limit or avoid washing vehicles, except at commercial establishments that provide that service as their only means of income. In these cases, hours of use will be restricted to 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
No water shall be used to fill private swimming pools, children's wading pools, or similar articles.
No water shall be used to clean streets, driveways, sidewalks, etc.
Large-volume water users, including industries, motels, hotels, eating establishments, and livestock confinements are requested to scale back services and/or production.
Schools are strongly urged to cancel physical education activities and inter-scholastic competitions that require showers or attract crowds, and take other actions to reduce water consumption.
For those still under a boil advisory, bottled water is still available at the Regional Waters Rural Water District Avoca Office. Regional Waters and the Iowa DNR say they are continuing efforts to ensure safe drinking water and thank customers for their patience.
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