Authorities lifted a boil-water order Saturday (July 26) that lasted more than a week for 714 homes and businesses in or near the Raintree Plantation subdivision west of Hillsboro.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued the boil-water order July 17 after routine testing discovered E. coli bacteria in water samples collected July 14. The Jefferson County Public Sewer District contracts with the American Water Enterprises to manage the water system.
DNR spokeswoman Gina Terlizzi said today (July 28) that her agency received the testing results necessary to rescind its boil-water order July 26. The DNR requires two consecutive days of clean water results in order to remove a boil order, she said.
“The second set of coliform-absent results came back from the lab on Saturday morning,” Terlizzi said. “People on the system were notified.”
It takes 24 hours to complete each test, she said.
Coliform is a group of bacteria and is considered less serious than E. coli. However, coliform can cause illness on its own and is an indicator that a more serious strain of bacteria could be present, according to the Jefferson County Health Department.
Almost all of the Raintree system’s accounts are within the subdivision, although a few businesses along Hwy. B just outside of the subdivision also use the system’s water, a Jefferson County Public Sewer District spokeswoman reported.
American Water Enterprises spokesman David Kitzmiller said after disinfecting the system and other related tasks, July 24 was the first opportunity to begin re-testing the water system. Thus, July 26 became the earliest date the boil order could have been lifted, he said.
Terlizzi said a DNR boil-water order is a directive to water system officials to issue a public notice recommending to their customers to boil their drinking and cooking water.
“Whenever under a boil order, we encourage folks to adhere to this,” she said.