Amity water supply receives clean bill of health

AMITY -  Edge Analytical, an environmental testing laboratory in Wilsonville, notified Amity city officials Wednesday morning that results of a bacteria water test were negative.

A computer malfunction at the water treatment plant, located northwest of town on Bridewell Road, shut down the operation Monday, leaving the city without running water.

Public Works Director Mark Gunter said last weekend's stormy weather contributed greatly to the shut down.

"No harmful bacteria was discovered in the city's drinking water and it has been determined safe for consumption," City Administrator Justin Hogue said.

Residents may experience discolored water. It is recommended citizens run cold water for several minutes in order to flush household plumbing, according to Hogue.

Level three mandatory water restrictions remain in effect. This includes a complete ban on all outside watering. Citizens should every effort possible to eliminate nonessential water consumption.

"We anticipate being able to lift the water restriction Friday," Hogue said. "We will reassess our water levels at that time and provide notice on the status of the restriction."

The City is working to produce enough water to bring its two reservoirs up to normal levels. the public works staff continues to work in 24 hours rotations to continue monitoring the system until the water supply reaches capacity.

"I'm happy we have water, that's the No. 1 thing," Mayor Michael Cape said.  "We've been able to get through the worst of this."

Cape said he was extremely pleased with the citizen response during the crisis.

He expected to meet with Hogue, Gunter and possibly the city's engineer Thursday to discuss what steps should be taken to hopefully ensure the water system does not malfunction in the future.

"We're going to work on what happened and move forward," Cape said.

The Yamhill County Community Emergency Response Team was called into action as a result of the crisis.

Donated bottle water was made available to citizens at the Amity Fire District main station, located at the south end of Trade Street, across from the Amity School District office. A supply of non-potable water was also available.

The city had about 300 bottles of water donated for citizen use. Residents picked up about 200 of them Monday.

Sheriff's Sgt. Brian Young, who oversees the team, said he was notified Monday morning by Fire Chief Bruce Hubbard that the city was without water.

"We were there in a supporting role, in the areas of resources and planning, for the city," said Young, who communicated with Hogue in an effort to assess the city's needs.

Young said the city will take the lead with regard to determining what caused the water system to fail. He said CERT's invovement is on the citizen side of things.

"It was a great response," Young said. "CERT stepped up big-time to hand out water and direct traffic. We needed to get resources to the citizens."

There were CERT volunteers at the fire station from 8:30 a.m. to 10:p.m. Monday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Young expressed his appreciation to the cities of Dayton, Lafayette Newberg and Sheridan, all of whom have assisted Amity officials.

For more information on the water situation, go to the City’s Facebook page or visit the City’s website at www.cityofamity.org .  Residents may also contact Hogue at city hall, 503-835-3711 , or jhogue@ci.amity.or.us .