Lewiston residents advised to boil water before using - KTTC

Lewiston residents advised to boil water before using

LEWISTON, Minn. (KTTC) – The city of Lewiston is under a boil water advisory.

Following advisement from the Minnesota Department of Health, the city issued the advisory after it experienced a loss of water system pressure due to a sensor failure around 7:20 p.m. Thursday.

Water pressure has been restored and the distribution system is being flushed.

Testing is now underway to make sure the water system has not been contaminated. Now, residents are encouraged to boil water before they drink it, brush their teeth or cook with it.

“When a water system loses pressure, essentially it creates the potential for siphoning. So you can pull contamination, whether it’s on service connections or hydrants or even the joints in the water main itself,” MDH community public water supply supervisor Karla Peterson said.

The health department issues a dozen or two boil advisories a year, many for this reason.

“Loss of pressure is the most common, and sometimes it’s really unavoidable. You can’t predict some mechanical failures, and so essentially we’ve got the guidance available and the city and MDH will act very quickly then to respond and really sort of minimize the potential length for duration of that advisory,” Peterson said.

The Recreation Bar and Cafe in Lewiston has their own filtration system for drinking water, so employees are depending on that to get the job done.

“We’re just going to tell customers about the advisory that’s going on. It’s up to them if they want to use our water or drink our water as it is through the filtration system,” employee Diane Sommers said.

With a big weekend ahead for Heartland Days, business owners are expecting a lot of business. While they hope the advisory will be done by Saturday, they’re prepared for anything.

“There is a lot going on for everyone and rummage sales are going on. People stop and eat and stuff like that, so we’ll have to buy a little more bottled water,” Sommers said.

The city of Lewiston will advise residents if water quality is safe once testing is complete. The best way to stay up to date is to follow the city’s Facebook page.

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