Rayleigh Waterworks District logo/via Rayleigh Waterworks District
Nearly 750 homes in Rayleigh are now under a boil-water advisory.
The storm which rolled over the area Wednesday night is suspected of taking down the power at the Rayleigh Waterworks system.
Glen Desjardine is the chair of the Rayleigh Waterworks Improvement District, which runs the stand-alone system.
“Because it happened after hours, we didn’t have any staff on, and our alert notification system also was affected by the power outage,” noted Desjardine in conversation with Radio NL. “That failed to notify our operators, which would have essentially called them in to reset the water pumps and restore the system as to its regular operation.”
CLICK TO EXPAND – Boil Water Advisory put out put by Rayleigh Waterworks District Thursday morning/via Rayleigh Waterworks District
Desjardine notes that without power, the system’s water supply continued to go down, meaning the potential for bacterial growth.
“We went all night without producing any water. That resulted in very low water levels this morning. Low enough that there was actually air-gaps in the distribution system. As a result of the air gaps in the distribution system, we have to notify Interior Health and follow their process and protocols.”
As a result, folks in Rayleigh can expect to be under the boil water advisory into and likely throughout the weekend.
“The boil-water notice is in effect until further notice. We suspect it will be about three days,” lamented Desjardine.
“I don’t see it coming off anytime sooner, just because we have to do our due diligence and we have to follow Interior Health’s process and protocol,” he added.
