ST. GEORGE — Apple Valley residents who’ve been conserving water since the failure of their water system last week can finally take a shower as usual. But officials ask that they continue to conserve water outdoors.
Barratt Nielson, chairman at Big Plains Water District, which serves Apple Valley and Cedar Point, released a statement on Thursday stating that Apple Valley residents can now resume normal indoor water use, including showering and other typical “living uses.” However, outdoor restrictions remain, such as washing cars and watering lawns.
“We want to thank everyone for being patient and conserving your water use,” he wrote.
The boil advisory is still in place until additional BAC-T test results are received to ensure the water is safe, the statement, posted to Facebook, reads.
“We already passed the first round of tests,” Nielson wrote. “That will take a couple more days to get the results.”
Under the advisory, residents should use water that’s been boiled for at least 3 minutes or bottled water to drink, make ice, brush their teeth, wash dishes and prepare food, St. George News reported previously.
“Regarding the boil advisory, this situation is not triggered by a positive E. coli test, but otherwise the instructions will be the same,” Nielson said. “We look forward to lifting all restrictions and returning to normal very soon.”
Restrictions went into effect initially on Sept. 20 after Apple Valley residents reported that they had no water flowing from their taps. This led to the discovery that the 1 million-gallon tank that serves the town was empty, leaving 170 homes without water.
The failure appears to have been caused by a series of mechanical issues, potentially caused by a lightning strike. Compounding this, a faulty gauge on the tank failed to report the rapid loss of water — it has since been replaced.
All the wells have now been producing water consistently for two days, and the tank’s water level is rising.
The Big Plains Water District can be contacted at 435-877-1190.
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