Wellman

The city of Wellman recently experienced a boil order that took effect last Friday. During that time, residents in Wellman were advised to boil their water for at least one minute before using it.

Boil orders in the area

Boil orders have become quite common in the area over the last few weeks.

It was first Kalona, then Lone Tree and now Wellman. Wellman also experienced water problems the week before, but no boil order was issued. In fact, an earlier notice about a boil order was issued by mistake.

Water main leak

Some residents were without water for a short period due to the water main project the city has been working on this summer.

Parts of 7th Avenue N., 11th Street and 8th Street were closed due to construction. 

According to Wellman City Administrator Kelly Litwiller, while crews were boring and pulling the pipe back through, they caught an old service line connected to a fire hydrant that the city did not know was there. Litwiller said that type of situation is very uncommon.

Residents living in the affected areas were without water for a few hours. However, the water was restored later that evening, with Litwiller saying residents had access again around 7 p.m.

Water main project

The city is nearing completion of the water main project. During the most recent Wellman City Council meeting, it was announced that the project was about 75% complete.

Boil order

Fast forward one week, and the problem city officials had hoped to avoid happened. During the previous two city council meetings, officials discussed the possibility of a boil order and their efforts to prevent one during the water main project.

The boil order took effect on Friday afternoon and lasted until 6 p.m. Saturday.

According to the city, the boil order was related to the water main project after crews had to shut down several valves because of a leak they were unable to locate Friday.

Litwiller explained what led to the boil order. “The contractor hit a water line while installing the new watermains. We had to turn off around 40% of the town to get isolated to repair the line. During this time, we had to issue a boil order out of precaution.”

After water samples were tested Saturday, the city was able to lift the boil order, allowing residents to once again use their water without boiling it first.

With the boil order lifted, Wellman residents could once again safely use their drinking water.