VAN BUREN, Ark. — Update: All boil orders for the City of Van Buren Public Water System have been lifted.
A boil water order has been issued for some residents in Van Buren. It's unclear at this time when the order will be lifted, but officials say it could be by some time next week.
The following areas are under a boil order:
- Area 1- Mount Vista Boulevard & Vista Hills Boulevard
- Area 2- South of I-40/South to Hynes Street between Fayetteville Road and North 13th Street/South to Northview Street
- Area 3- Heritage Heights subdivisions & Park Heights subdivisions
The Arkansas Department of Health issued the order, saying:
"The Arkansas Department of Health has issued the 'Boil Water' Notice for the area North of I-40 on August 5, 2022. This order was issued as a precautionary measure because of the possibility that contaminated water may have entered the distribution system as a result of a loss in normal system pressure.
Under the 'Boil Water' Notice, all affected customers are advised that the water may be unsafe for human consumption, and water used for drinking or food preparation must be boiled briskly for one (1) minute prior to use. All ice cubes should be discarded and only boiled water used for making ice.
This Notice will be lifted by the Department of Health when 1 set of 5 bacteriological samples indicate that the water is free of bacterial contamination and an adequate disinfectant level is established throughout the distribution system."
Crawford County customers in Rudy share the same water system and have been dealing with an outage that began Friday morning.
Those at higher elevations are being affected the most.
Dufresne says there is not an exact count yet of how many people are without water. He says they are working to "re-valve" water from another source, but most of the surrounding communities get their water from Fort Smith. It's unclear when water will be restored to those without it.
A mechanical issue at the Lee Creek Water Treatment Plant was first found Tuesday morning, Aug. 2, and the plant was shut down for repairs. During the maintenance, Lee Creek was still able to produce water using a "small backup system," while Lake Fort Smith increased its water production to continue providing clean drinking water to residents.
The maintenance needed to repair the second issue isn't projected by the city to be done until Monday, Aug. 8 with the plant being back to full-water production on Friday, Aug. 12.
No other information has been released at this time.
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