Huntsville under boil order through Christmas

HUNTSVILLE — A boil order is still in effect for more than 700 people in Huntsville. They’ve been without drinking water for more than a week after a leak was discovered in the water treatment system.

Crews found the cause of a water leak on Tuesday morning after using sonar technology to hear where the leak was located.

“It’s been like finding a needle in a haystack,” Richard Sorensen, Huntsville’s Mayor, said. “It’s been perplexing.”

Below the surface, next to the Huntsville water treatment facility, a 22-year-old pipe broke at the seams, causing the leak.

“It is tiny, but 250 gallons a minute it probably became fatigued and broke,” Sorensen said.

The break caused more than 700 residents to lose drinkable water. Water bottles and a temporary water line have been installed, yet Sorensen worries about those who can’t leave their homes.

“We’ve been trying to get water to them,” Sorensen said. “We’ve had volunteers go around and deliver water to those people.”

Volunteer efforts will continue until the boil order is lifted.

“The leak is found, we just need to clean the tank out,” Sorensen said.

A team of around a dozen will clean out what Sorensen called the “million-dollar storage tank.” Once sanitized, Sorensen said they’ll pressurize the tank, fill it with chlorine, and then wait 24 hours until all of the bacteria is killed.

The crew will drain the tank and then fill it again with the proper chlorine levels for water treatment.

“It’s going to be a process to get that boil order lifted,” Sorensen said.

The order may not be lifted by Christmas, but Sorensen will keep the temporary water line and other options available until the water is fully potable.

Afterward, Sorensen plans to install a few more valves along the pipeline so they can find future leaks faster.