Do not drink water order lifted for Roberts

ROBERTS – After a 3-day do not drink order, the city of Roberts says the water is safe to drink again.

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, the city of Roberts website states “Mountain West Environmental has just confirmed that all water tests results have come back clear. The city water is safe for use. Mountain West Environmental and the city of Roberts would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding.”

On Saturday, the city told locals not to drink the water even if they boiled it first, and not to shower in it because of a mechanical failure at the leading well.

“We experienced a water source change due to a mechanical failure of the leading well,” officials said in the advisory. “As a result, there is an increased chance that the drinking water may contain disease-causing organisms.”

The city said the do not drink order was out of an “abundance of caution, ” and that residents were encouraged not to use the water until testing revealed if it was safe to drink or not.

Residents were encouraged to use only bottled water for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation. Additionally, do not boil the water and then drink it, authorities said.

“Boiling the water with elevated levels of chemical contaminants, such as arsenic, lead and nitrates, will increase/concentrate the levels,” they noted. “This would make the water more harmful rather than negate the hazard.”

According to Carlin Feisthamel, the engineering manager for DEQ, the city of Roberts voluntarily ordered a do not drink order, which was not issued by DEQ.

The city’s well #3 began having a mechanical issue, meaning they needed to turn on well #2. They did not have time to test well #2 before turning it on, which meant there was a possibility of contamination in the water.

Feisthamel says that well #3 was fixed in about five hours, and the city was waiting on test results to make sure the water was safe before turning it back on for the public to access.

This is far from the first time that the water has become unsafe to drink in Roberts.

In February, residents experienced a month-long boil order after the residents were complaining about brown water coming out of their faucets.

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The city posted that the water was safe to drink at that point, but later back tracked and issued a boil order the next day.

This event prompted Roberts mayor, BJ Berlin, to apologize to residents during an interview with EastIdahoNews.com.

Soon after, the city of Roberts signed a new contract with Mountain West Environmental to take over the licensing and water testing in Roberts.

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“Obviously, it’s important to all of us,” Berlin said in February. “Fresh water is the first and most important thing we do, where that wastewater goes is the second most important thing we do, and we’re sorry this happened.”