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City issues emergency boil order after feathers found in overflow pipe screen

Justin Addison, Editor/Publisher
Posted 3/2/23

All water customers in the City of Fayette are on an emergency boil order. The order was announced Friday afternoon after bird feathers were found in the overflow pipe screen of the city’s main …

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City issues emergency boil order after feathers found in overflow pipe screen

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All water customers in the City of Fayette are on an emergency boil order. The order was announced Friday afternoon after bird feathers were found in the overflow pipe screen of the city’s main water tower in the Fayette City Park. 

According to a statement issued by the city on Monday, the feathers were discovered during a routine inspection by the Department of Natural Recourses on Wednesday, February 22. The city received the report of contamination from the department on Friday and issued the boil order.

The city said the water could be contaminated with organisms that may pose an acute health risk. “Contamination may pose a greater health risk for infants, young children, the elderly, and people were severely compromised immune systems,” read a statement issued Friday.

Interstate Contracting and Coating, Inc., the company that recently cleaned the outside of the water tower at the park, has been hired to clean out both of the city’s water towers. A crew was expected to arrive Tuesday. The tower located on Givens Road in the north section of town has been closed for approximately five years due to elevated TTHM issues.

(TTHMs are a common drinking water contaminant group of organic chemicals, such as chloroform and bromoform, that occur as a result of chlorine treatment).

According to Public Works Director Danny Dougherty, the company will first clean and disinfect the Givens tower. That tower will then be filled to supply water pressure to the city. The park tower, which is the only tower that has been in use in recent years, will then be cleaned and disinfected. Once completed, it will be refilled, and the water will be tested. It is not known if the city will continue to employ both water towers once the situation in resolved.

A BACT (Best Available Control Technology) sample taken by the city on Tuesday, February 21 came back clean.

The boil order is expected to be in effect for at least two weeks but could last longer. 3/1/2023

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