WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – City officials are investigating the cause of Watertown’s boil water notice after high turbidity was detected in the city’s water supply Saturday.
The city does not know what caused the water cloudiness that prompted the boil notice. City Manager Eric Wagenaar said the city will investigate many variables, including water temperature, flow, levels, rain amounts, snow melt, air temperatures, and ice cover in the basin where the water is drawn from.
Watertown gets its water from the Black River. Residents have noted the river has run quickly before and after rain and snowmelt without causing water quality issues.
The water department first noticed something was wrong on Saturday in the room where turbidity is monitored. The cloudiness of city water was too high, making it unsafe to drink since particles pose an infection risk.
“To dumb it down, the bacteria can hide behind the particles of the turbidity and not be impacted by the chlorine,” said Aaron Harvill, the City of Watertown’s Water Superintendent.
Harvill says that elevated turbidity isn’t uncommon following snow melts like the city saw Friday. What is uncommon is for that turbidity to remain after the city’s usual treatment of Aluminum sulfate. It’s an anomaly that has city workers scratching their heads.
“We don’t know what the source of the turbidity was. We know that it is different,” said Harvill.
As a safety measure, the city has added extra chlorine to the water supply. You may have smelled it as of Tuesday night. Folks should still be boiling their water, however.
“Public health and safety is a priority. That’s our surest way to make sure that this product is safe,” said Harvill.
At the water department’s laboratory, lab technicians are measuring the turbidity from various points. So far, so good. We’re told levels have been going down, but the city isn’t out of the woods yet.
“It’s a challenge, but it’s something we take seriously. We know that this is a priority. We’re working through this to the best we can right now,” said Harvill.
Officials said the earliest the boil water notice could be lifted is Christmas Day.
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