Boil advisory lifted for Creston, but remains for SIRWA

CNA photo by TYLER ELLYSON Flushing the problem: SIRWA employees will be opening hydrants like this one in Cromwell over the next few days in an attempt to flush out the old water. They may have to drain over 25 million gallons of water before the boil advisory can be lifted.

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Drink up Creston. The boil advisory, which had been in effect for more than a week, was lifted for Creston Municipal Utilities customers 2:45 p.m. Tuesday. This includes only people who pay their water bill directly to Creston Municipal Utilities. Southern Iowa Rural Water Association (SIRWA) customers in the affected area are still under a boil advisory. Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and Creston water officials determined the city water plant is functioning effectively and providing safe water for residents. “Although test results from the Creston water supply are showing the water is safe now, it will take some time before the extensive distribution system can be flushed and the newly treated water reaches all the customers served by the Southern Iowa Rural Water Association,” said Dan Stipe, supervisor of DNR’s Atlantic field office. Work to be done The system has to be flushed of the old water and filled with new before IDNR officials can declare it safe. “We’ve met the testing requirements,” said Steve Green, Creston Municipal Utilities general manager. “Now we have to move the water through the system.” Creston Water Works employees have successfully flushed the 140 miles of water mains within the city, but SIRWA workers are still flushing parts of their 3,000-mile system. “Our limiting factor is still the amount of water we can get to flush,” McIntosh said. “We have to be careful not to run Creston out of water, or it will start all over again for everybody.” Because water concerns limit flushing of the entire system, officials shut off the fluoride entering the system and test the fluoride level in the mains at specific points to see where more flushing is needed. Still boiling McIntosh was not sure how many locations still needed flushing, but on Tuesday said “it’s going to be a couple of days” before completion. SIRWA customers should continue to follow the boil advisory until they are notified their water meets state and federal drinking water standards. “They (IDNR) are not doing this as a hardship,” said McIntosh. “They want to make sure everyone is safe.” Southwest Iowa residents in seven counties have been under a boil advisory since Dec. 29 when high turbidity, or cloudiness, levels were discovered in the water at the Creston water plant. —————— Tyler Ellyson can be reached at (641) 782-2141 ext. 236 or tellyson@crestonnews.com