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CLINTON, Ill. (WCIA) — Last week, the entire city of Clinton went under a boil order after a routine test found traces of coliform bacteria.
Now, almost a week later, the boil order from the EPA has been lifted. Water officials expresses frustrations, and community leaders explained how they’ve handled the extended order.
“We do follow every rule that the Illinois EPA and the state and federal government put out,” said Clinton Water Commissioner John Wise.
After the last standard test failed, more samples were sent on Thursday with the expectation of a passed test and a lifted boil order before the weekend. Secondary tests didn’t detect any bacteria but also didn’t arrive in Clinton until Monday morning. Those tests came back clean, resulting in the end of the boil order around 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
“For whatever reason, in this particular instance, they kept it until we get the second set. That was clear, and we haven’t really figured that out,” John Wise added.
Water Superintendent Kyle Morris said that in his experience, the need for another test after a passed sample is odd.
“Typically, if you have a failed sample, you get a repeat sample, and as soon as those pass, you come off your boil order. I do understand, you know, we had some quality issues, things down at the plant. They wanted to err on the side of caution. I get that. But still, once those original samples came back passed, I think we should have been able to lift the boil order,” says Morris.
For the last week, Sorrento’s Pizza in Clinton has used bottled water for dough and marinara sauce. Owner John Miller says it’s been mostly business as usual for most restaurants downtown.
“They’re following the guidelines, as they should, as everybody else is,” Miller said. “And it’s just not such a big problem if you don’t make it a problem, you know.”
The Clinton School District held e-learning on Monday due to the boil order.
WCIA reached out to the EPA offices in Springfield to learn more about the boil-order process and did not hear back.