Imperfect storm leads to water advisory
Water tower maintenance and a failed chlorine pump — those were the circumstances that led to a boil water advisory Monday in Burns, superintendent of maintenance Robyn Basham said.
The city’s water tower was being cleaned Sunday, so the city had been using a well, but a chlorine pump attached to the well malfunctioned and cause chlorine levels to skyrocket, Basham said. She tried to flush the system but that compounded the issue by causing the wells to shut off.
“It didn’t want to kick back on, so we lost water for 15 to 20 minutes,” Basham said.
The city was able to use the water tower again instead of wells once cleaning was done.
The boil water advisory remains active until the state’s department of health and environment can receives test results showing clean water and rescinds the advisory.
Last modified Dec. 15, 2020