|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Nearly two dozen homes in Mountain View’s Cuesta Park neighborhood are still without safe drinking water after a city contractor inadvertently contaminated a water main last month. The city is now performing “mechanical pipeline cleaning” along Drucilla Drive and Carla Court to remove any harmful bacteria in the pipes.
At the start of the week, the city anticipated that normal water service could be restored to the 21 homes still under a “boil water” notice as early as Wednesday, May 13. However, Mountain View officials announced Tuesday evening that a water sample taken the day before had tested positive for coliform bacteria. With further cleaning and testing now needed, the city plans to continue providing hotels to affected residents through at least Monday.
read related articles
The mechanical pipe cleaning – referred to as “pipeline pigging” – involves a “foam ‘pig’ device,” which is similar to a large earplug, according to a city news advisory. The pig is inserted into the pipe at different places and then repeatedly pushed through with water pressure.
To get access to the pipes, the city is closing the intersection of Drucilla Drive and Montalto Drive to traffic until 7 p.m. Thursday. Residents who live on Drucilla Drive and Carla Court will be allowed to enter and exit, the city said.
The 21 impacted households, all on Drucilla Drive and Carla Court, currently need to boil their water for at least a minute before consuming it. Last week, the boil water notice was lifted for 46 other households affected by the water main incident.
On Wednesday, the city collected more water samples from different locations. The test results are expected to come back Thursday, the city said. Coliform bacteria is typically harmless but can indicate the presence of other harmful organisms in the water supply, according to a fact sheet from the California State Water Resources Control Board.
Mountain View declared a state of emergency one day after the contamination breach occurred on April 24. This allows the city to pursue reimbursement from the state and federal government for expenses incurred while responding to the incident.
On Tuesday, the City Council met behind closed doors to discuss “potential litigation” arising from the Cuesta Park water main contamination. City spokesperson Lenka Wright previously told the Voice that the city was investigating the circumstances of the incident.
For updates and more information about resources available for affected residents, visit the city’s website.
