Harold Bostic says he took clean water for granted before this week. For the past few days, he and his wife have had to work to keep the water clean. "We boil it about 3 times a day," says Bostic, "it's just me and the wife, so it's been inconvenient, but I guess we just have to bare with it." Luckily for Bostic, the alert was lifted at around 4:15 Thursday afternoon.
About 2,000 residents in Hawkins County were put on a boil water alert earlier this week, after heavy rainfall clouded the water at a pump station on Carter's Valley Road. But Bostic says he and his wife were never notified by the First Utility District. "We never got phone calls or anything," he says, "it was just through a friend." And Bostic worries what may have happened if not for that friend. "You could already consumer some of the water and get sick," he says, "and then find out, which would be too late."
First Utility District Manager Allen Jones says the water was never dangerous, but had to reach a certain sediment level before the boil alert could be removed. Jones says it's the first time in his 35 years on the job that rainfall has caused such a problem. "Just more than it could handle I guess," he says.
Bostic and other residents are not upset about the alert, just that they never really got word about it. "I don't even know what the cause was or anything," says Bostic, "what bacteria might be in there or anything, no explanation."
Jones says he didn't realize Hawkins County now has a reverse 911 system, which could have sent out notification to all those affected. "Had I known they had it, I would have called them, absolutely," he says.
Bostic says he's lucky to have his own notification system at his house - his wife, who put post-it notes saying "BOIL WATER" on all the faucets in the house. He just hopes if another situation like this arises, the county will be just as clear with its alerts.
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