Trumann Boil Notices Lifted After Water Quality Concerns

TRUMANN, Ark. — City residents on the Trumann Waterworks water system learned Tuesday afternoon that a boil notice had been lifted after a week of unfortunate issues. Meanwhile, residents of the former Trumann Rural Water had their boil notice lifted Wednesday morning.

The troubles with the water system started on Monday, Aug. 21, Mayor Jay Paul Woods told NEA Report. He said a water main burst, and crews were able to fix it by Wednesday morning Aug. 23. But when water quality tests were performed afterward, a new issue emerged.

The Arkansas Department of Health listed both the Trumann Rural Water Association and Trumann Waterworks, which the mayor says are one and the same, as having inadequate disinfectant levels.

“The health department said that a couple of the samples were possibly contaminated,” Woods said. “Until we have two consecutive days of clear tests, we have to be under a boil notice.”

The water main break could have led to the possible contamination issue, but Trumann officials do not know with certainty what led to the positive tests.

Woods said the city took 12 samples and two came back as possibly contaminated. After more samples were taken, two more came back as possibly contaminated, he said. However, nothing has been confirmed as being contaminated, the mayor emphasized, adding that it could have been that the containers in which the samples were taken were contaminated.

The city worked as quickly as it could to meet the testing requirements. Woods said three test results have to be presented for each water system, but because the ADH erroneously lists the Trumann Rural Water Association as separate from Trumann Waterworks, the requirement is double what is normal, at six. The mayor said he hopes to resolve the disparity with the health department.

In the meantime, city officials and volunteers handed out bottled water to residents.

Mayor Woods said the health department is just looking out for people, and he understands that. If there is some sort of confirmed contamination, the public should know. And although some members of the public were understandably concerned, the mayor said he was not one of them.

“Personally, I’ve been drinking the water, taking showers with it, and I’ve not had any issues,” Woods said.