Depressurization Events

Important Information Regarding Depressurization Events:

The routine maintenance of water pumps, mains and storage facilities are an integral part of ensuring a safe and consistent water supply is delivered to our customers. We monitor your water systems 24/7 to ensure operations are running smoothly and we are notified via alarms when issues of concern arise. Unforeseen issues such as water main breaks or pump failures can lead to a ‘Depressurization Event.’

Because your health is important to us, we want to explain in greater detail the steps we have, and will continue to take, to protect the water supply during a depressurization event. We would also like to share the measures you may choose to take to protect your health should a pressure loss occur.

There is a potential for backflow or cross connection contamination to occur during pressure loss. This creates the opportunity for contaminants to be drawn into the drinking water supply. We do our best to limit this potential through our cross connection control program.

While we have established these preventative measures to significantly diminish the potential for contamination, it is not possible for any public drinking water system to completely rule out the potential for contamination during a depressurization event. This potential for the introduction of microbial and chemical contaminants into the water system may pose a special health risk for people with weakened immune systems (immuno-compromised persons), children, and the elderly. If such contamination were to occur it might cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps, headaches, or other symptoms.

If you are concerned about the potential for contamination due to a depressurization event, and you notice a decrease in pressure at your tap, please consume bottled water. Boiling your water, while effective in killing bacteria, may not be effective to ensure that you are protected from all potential contamination.

Once pressure is restored to operational levels, North Kootenai Water District’s licensed operators will collect bacteria samples from the impacted area. We will post laboratory results on our website (we receive results within 24-48 hours). If any sample is positive (results take 24 hours for the laboratory to run the coliform test) we will notify you and the District will flush, disinfect and retest the affected areas.