Cloudy water prompts Warm Springs boil-water notice

Three days of samples showing abnormally cloudy, turbid water prompted a boil-water notice Wednesday for Warm Springs residents.

The tribes’ water treatment plant issued the notice about high turbidity levels and urged residents to boil their water for at least three minutes, then cool before drinking or using it, or to use bottled water instead.

Plant officials said they routinely monitor the water for turbidity, which itself has no health effects but can interfere with disinfection and provide a medium for microbial growth. It can also indicate the presence of bacteria or other disease-causing organisms.

Samples taken Sunday showed 1.10 turbidity units, rising to 3.88 units on Monday and 3.48 units on Tuesday, well above the standard of 0.3 turbidity units. The full notice is posted on the tribes’ Facebook page.

Several steps are being taken by water treatment plant operators to resolve the issues, including disassembling and repairing-rebuilding the chemical pumps to be sure the correct dosages are being used to treat for the turbidity. Random water samples will be taken for bacterial testing and some system flushing is planned.