Residents of Dawson are currently under a boil water order after a significant drop in water pressure occurred due to a break in the main water line. The Village’s water pressure dropped below 20 PSI, prompting immediate action to ensure the safety of the community’s drinking water.
PeopleService, the company responsible for managing the water supply, diligently tested water samples throughout the week last week. Two of those samples tested positive for coliform bacteria, a potential indicator of harmful pathogens. As a result, officials have advised that the boil water order remains in effect until further notice.
The boil order means all residents should boil their tap water for at least one minute before using it for drinking, cooking, or brushing teeth. This precaution is necessary to kill any bacteria or viruses that may be present in the water.
According to the City of Humboldt, the results from this past Saturday’s testing have come back, and two of the tests detected coliform, but in very low numbers. “We are now chlorinating the system in order to eliminate the bacteria. The idea is to use enough chlorine to kill the bacteria without using so much that it’s noticeable to you. It will take a few days to distribute the chlorine throughout the entire system, so please continue to follow the Boil Water Advisory. Once we have chlorinated the entire system, we will need to complete another two rounds of sampling.”
We will try to get more information online as it comes in.