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Updated: April 16, 2024 @ 9:26 am
HARTINGTON, Neb. — After nearly a week, Hartington residents are free to use municipal water again without boiling it.
City Clerk Natalie Schaecher received notice Wednesday that the Hartington water supply had tested negative for contaminants. In turn, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services issued a “cease boil water” order.
“We are pleased to report that the contamination has been corrected,” a city notice said to customers. “Special samples have been submitted and have tested negative for the total coliform and fecal or E. coli bacteria. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.”
The city received notice at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 8 that its monthly water test had failed the standard for E. coli. Since that time, residents were advised to boil the water or use bottled water for purposes such as drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, ice and washing dishes by hand.
The water was considered safe to use for showering, bathing, laundry and for automatic dishwasher with a high-heat function.
In accordance with state requirements, city officials posted notices on the front door of each residence. City crews began cleaning the municipal water system.
Meanwhile, a Hartington city employee drove to Norfolk, Nebraska, and obtained a water test kit. The action was taken to speed up the testing process rather than wait for a kit sent from the state.
A city employee drove the kit Friday to Lincoln, where the sample tested clean. However, two more clean samples were required before lifting the boil order.
Because of the weekend and Monday observance of Veterans Day, the city was required to wait until Tuesday to complete the drawing of two more samples for testing. The samples were again driven to Lincoln, a six-hour roundtrip.
The second and third samples tested negative, meaning the boil order was lifted immediately.
The city’s notice include a request for Hartington residents to spread the message about the all-clear status.
“Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools and businesses),” the notice said.
Hartington is a community of about 1,700 residents. The city had not previously experienced problems with E. coli, according to Schaecher.
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For more information regarding the notice, interested persons may contact Bob Hamilton at (402) 841-1934.
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