7 water systems remain under boil order
Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/232106/
BERRYVILLE — A boil order is in place today for customers of seven water systems in Boone, Carroll and Newton counties after a major water pipe broke on Monday.
The 24-inch transmission line was repaired by 2 a. m. Tuesday, and the precautionary boil order took effect later that day. The order remains in place for people who rely on the Harrison, Green Forest, Alpena, Cottonwood, Southwest Boone County, Omaha and Compton water systems, said Craig Corder, engineering supervisor for the Arkansas Department of Health.
The pipe, owned by the Carroll-Boone Water District, was discovered broken two miles east of Berryville near a rock quarry, on Monday morning, said Rick Boling, a water district plant operator.
The water district is a wholesaler that pumps Beaver Lake water into the seven systems.
The break shut down the Tyson Foods Inc. poultry plant at Green Forest on Tuesday, giving the plant’s 1, 200 employees a day off, said Gary Mickelson, a Tyson spokesman.
First-shift plant employees were expected to return to work at 8 a. m. today, Mickelson said.
Harrison employees repaired the waterline for the Carroll-Boone Water District.
The break’s location east of Berryville meant it didn’t have an impact on Carroll-Boone Water District customers in Eureka Springs and Berryville, said Frank Gelinas, Harrison’s public works director.
Harrison will bill the water district for the repair, Gelinas said. He estimated the cost at $ 20, 000.
The systems must send water samples to the Arkansas Department of Health and get results showing the water is safe for consumption before the boil order will be lifted, Gelinas said. It’s likely to be Thursday or Friday before the boil order is lifted in Harrison, he said.
Precautionary boil orders are issued after waterline breaks. Because the water system loses pressure from the break, it’s more likely to allow groundwater to seep into the pipes. That groundwater may be contaminated, according to the Health Department.