Customers on Banks’ municipal water system north of Highway 26, an area outside city limits, must boil their water until further notice due to a leak, the city said Wednesday afternoon.
In a statement issued just before 1:30 p.m., the city said that public works staff were investigating the issue and that more information would be forthcoming.
More information did come: The city later said that at around 1 p.m. Wednesday, public works staff noticed a water loss of about 400 gallons per minute on the water transmission line north of Highway 26.
As a result of the leak, water customers north of Highway 26 are on a boil water notice until the city can find the leak, repair it, and sample the water to ensure it’s safe to drink.
“Staff is working to get the leak located and repaired as quickly as possible,” the city said.
Affected customers would receive a phone call the city said, instead of the usual in-person or door hanger notification owing to icy roads and driveways.
Previously, the city had said that city employees would not be reporting to work today owing to icy weather.
See weather-related impacts in the greater Banks region here.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.