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BREAKDOWN

Here’s what to know about Redcliff’s boil water advisory

Jul 15, 2024 | 1:23 PM

The Town of Redcliff issued a water boil advisory on Sunday after a systems failure at its water treatment plant.

LIVE: Redcliff expects water boil advisory will lift by Thursday

A statement from the town, along with reporting from CHAT News and information from Mayor Dwight Kilpatrick, has revealed more about what happened.

Crews were notified of the issue at approximately 11 a.m. on Sunday when an uninterrupted power supply that the main distribution computer system is plugged into quit working for an unknown reason.

The error then sent a call out to the operator who tried to troubleshoot the issue from home online, but couldn’t receive a connection as the system was down entirely.

At around 11:30 a.m., the operator travelled to the plant as crews worked to turn on the pumps manually because the clear well of treated water underneath the building was full.

The manual restart was completed between 12:15 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., which started gradually putting water back into the system.

Somewhere between 12:30 and 1 p.m., most residents had water flow, with the water being cloudy and murky as the pipes depressurized.

The plant resumed operations by 3 p.m. on Sunday, according to a statement from the town.

Kilpatrick said that, as a result of the systems failure, the plant would now be under constant monitoring by the town and that the 2,500 households affected are still under a boiling water advisory.

Kilpatrick said that the water needs to be tested and that the boiling water advisory will be on until Alberta Health Services deem is safe to be consumed.

He added that some activities, such as watering plants, are okay.

He is optimistic that the advisory could be lifted as early as Thursday.