Chinook issues boil order on water

While the water distribution system is repaired in Chinook, the city has issued a boil order until further notice while samples of the water are tested.

The city issued a boil order Thursday afternoon due to the chance of disease-causing organisms getting into the system when a main line coming out of the water treatment plant broke Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning,

The break — a softball-sized hole in the main line — happened just two weeks after the city received $4.6 million in grants and low-interest loans to rehabilitate its aging water treatment and distribution system.

The break is repaired the system repressurized, a release from the city says, but while it was depressurized disease-causing organisms could have entered the system.

The city has increased the amount of chlorine it is adding to the water, but people using the system are asked to use bottled water or bring the city water to a boil and let it boil for at least a minute and let it cool before using it to:

• Drink;

• Make ice;

• Wash dishes;

• Brush teeth, or

• Prepare food.

Results of tests of water samples taken are pending, and more samples will be taken, the city says.

The release says people with severely compromised immune systems, infants and some elderly people may be at a higher level of risk. Health care providers can provide more information about the risks, the release says, and information on how to reduce the risk of infection by microbes is available by calling the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

The backflow caused when the system depressurized increases the chance of the presence of bacteria, viruses and parasites in the water, the release says. These organisms could cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea and headaches.

With the increased levels of chlorine, people may notice a pronounced odor of chlorine, the release says, adding that the higher level of chlorine also increases the chance of disinfection byproducts, which can be created when disinfectants like chlorine react to substances in the water.

For more information on disinfection byproducts, people can visit the EPA webpage http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/disinfectionbyproducts.cfm.

The city also asked that people help spread the word about the boil order, especially to people in locations where they might not see the notice, such as in apartments, nursing homes, schools and businesses.

For more information, people are asked to contact Chinook Mayor Keith Hanson at 357-3160 or by mail at PO Box 1177, Chinook MT 59523.