City water boil order lifted after more than two days
The boil order for the Greencastle water was lifted at mid-afternoon Sunday after more than 50 hours.
Mayor Sue Murray issued the following statement in announcing the lifting of the ban just after 3 p.m. Sunday:
"I have just received word that the state-certified lab found no deficiencies in the samples collected yesterday from the Greencastle water system," she said as the boil order logged its 51st hour.
The boil order had been in effect since about noon Friday, affecting not only Greencastle but the Town of Fillmore as well as the North 43, South 43 and Big Walnut, the rural corporations to which it supplies water.
With it being Family Weekend at DePauw University and the Taste of Putnam County even on Saturday, the inconvenience on local restaurants was intensified as some businesses served canned soda and bottled water or altered their drink menus to avoid the tap water issue and the labor-intensive nature of boiling the water.
McDonald's, for example, brought brewed iced tea up from its Cloverdale store to serve at Taste of Putnam County.
"I understand the inconveniences and impact that this boil order has had on our community," the mayor added in her statement Sunday, "and for that we are all truly sorry. Public safety has to be and always is our most important obligation."
There has been some confusion over whether the boil order was planned, City Council President Adam Cohen stated in response to an online Banner Graphic forum.
"It was not," he assured. "The work was planned but not the boil order. That was an unexpected and unplanned outcome of the work."
In defense of that, although the city water plant additions and expansion were discussed briefly by the Board of Works last Thursday, no mention of any boil order was ever made by any city official or Lori Young, the city's consulting engineer on the project from Curry and Associates, Danville.
"It's a precautionary thing," the mayor advised in announcing the boil order just after noon on Friday. "We don't want to take any chances."
With the city in the midst of a water expansion effort and its new water tank is expected to be in service this week, the disinfecting process was under way on Friday. The process of changing over the system, however, necessitated the precautionary step that ensued.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management requires two negative bacteria test results from a certified state lab before lifting the ban. Greencastle passed first of those Saturday afternoon and got a second clean bill of health Sunday to result in the lifting of the ban.
Meanwhile, Dale Pierce of the Big Walnut Water Corp. reported that Big Walnut had its two samples tested and returned with a clean bill of health as well.