NORTH BEND, Wash. — The water is once again safe to drink for Sallal Water Association customers living in the North Bend area.
An advisory to boil water was lifted by the Association on Oct. 2 after two sets of water samples that showed "satisfactory" results were taken.
The advisory impacted thousands of people who get their water from the Sallal system and those in the Wilderness Rim Association. The presence of E. coli was found in water samples during routine tests. The bacteria was not detected in August testing. Samples collected on Sept. 11 showed positive E. coli tests in the water from the Riverpoint area.
Now that the water is safe, residents in the impacted area are being told to flush their plumbing.
The Sallal Water Association recommends residents take the following steps:
Flush household pipes and faucets:
- To flush your plumbing, run all your hot/cold faucets and outside hose bibs on full for at least 5 minutes each.
- For a residence with multiple levels, start at the top level of the house.
Ice and automatic ice makers:
- Wash and sanitize ice trays and ice bins with a solution of two tablespoons bleach to one gallon of water.
- For an icemaker, dump existing ice and flush the water feed lines by making and discarding three batches of ice cubes.
Hot water heaters, water coolers, in-line filters and other appliances with direct water connections or water tanks:
- Run enough water to completely replace at least on full volume of all lines and tanks, including water heaters and refrigerator water lines.
- Replace water filters after completing all flushing.
- Run dishwashers empty for at least two cycles.