Warm Springs lifts second boil-water notice

(Update: Boil water notice lifted)

A day-old boil water notice was lifted Wednesday on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, as water treatment plant officials said they resolved high turbidity levels that could have led to health issues.

“Normal consumption of treated water can resume,” the notice issued Wednesday afternoon stated.

The Warm Springs water treatment plant serves the Agency Area of Warm Springs, as well as Kah-nee-ta, Wolfe Point, Sunnyside and Tenino.

“The water and wastewater department took necessary steps to bring the turbidity back into compliance to meet (Environmental Protection Agency) requirements,” the notice said.

Officials also said they had tested for bacterial contamination, with all results returning as negative.

For the second time in two weeks, Warm Springs residents had been advised to boil water for three minutes before using it due to high levels of cloudy water that can be linked to potential health issues.

“Turbidity has no health effects,” according to Tuesday’s notice posted to the tribes’ Facebook page of a “high turbidity event” at the water treatment plant. “However, turbidity can interfere with disinfection and provide a medium for microbial growth.”

A water sample taken Monday night as the treatment plant was shutting down showed 1.4 turbidity units, well above the 0.3 standard, meaning “an increased chance that the water may contain disease-causing organisms.”

“Turbidity may indicate the presence of disease-causing organisms” such as “bacteria, viruses and parasites,” the notice stated.

Water treatment plant operators said they were back-washing filters with filtered water to clear the system. Random water samples are being tested for bacteria as a precautionary measure, they said, and some system flushing was planned.