For several days, different water customers in Saline County have been urged to conserve water. Businesses are also joining in the effort.
Benton Mayor Tom Farmer released an update Monday afternoon on the boil order and conservation status for Benton Utilities customers:
What does it take to lift a boil order?
The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) assigns sample sites throughout our city to get a widespread analysis of our water quality. We sample the sites monthly and deliver to ADH in Little Rock. The ADH lab tests the water for compliance and provides test results within a day or two.
The lab tests samples for every public water system in the state, or certifies other labs to test in the remote areas of the state.
Boil Order samples are in addition to the normal monthly samples tested by the lab. With other systems in the state fighting similar battles, the lab will be overburdened. We are checking on the availability of alternate testing facilities.
First, we have to get enough pressure in our system to be able to collect samples at the sample sites. We are not there yet.
Our local car washes have agreed to discontinue operations until our system can reach a more adequate level of pressure.