WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – City officials are investigating the cause of Watertown\u2019s boil water notice after high turbidity was detected in the city\u2019s water supply Saturday.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo dumb it down, the bacteria can hide behind the particles of the turbidity and not be impacted by the chlorine,\u201d said Aaron Harvill, the City of Watertown\u2019s Water Superintendent.<\/p>\n
Harvill says that elevated turbidity isn\u2019t uncommon following snow melts like the city saw Friday. What is uncommon is for that turbidity to remain after the city\u2019s usual treatment of Aluminum sulfate. It\u2019s an anomaly that has city workers scratching their heads.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know what the source of the turbidity was. We know that it is different,\u201d said Harvill.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cPublic health and safety is a priority. That\u2019s our surest way to make sure that this product is safe,\u201d said Harvill.<\/p>\n
At the water department\u2019s laboratory, lab technicians are measuring the turbidity from various points. So far, so good. We\u2019re told levels have been going down, but the city isn\u2019t out of the woods yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a challenge, but it\u2019s something we take seriously. We know that this is a priority. We\u2019re working through this to the best we can right now,\u201d said Harvill.<\/p>\n
Officials said the earliest the boil water notice could be lifted is Christmas Day.<\/p>\n
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