Residents of a west Moab neighborhood are being told to only drink bottled water for the next few days while the health officials determine whether harmful chemicals have contaminated the city’s drinking water system.
Chemicals used to winterize an RV may have seeped into water supplies after being spilled near an open fire hydrant, said Bradon Bradford, a public information officer for the Southeast Utah Health Department.
It remains unclear if chemicals were pulled into the drinking water system at or near the hydrant; which chemicals might have been involved; or whether they are harmful, Bradford said. But residents on the west side of Moab are being told to drink bottled water until city and health officials are able to determine supplies are safe.
The notice appeared to affect pockets of Moab’s west side roughly west of 500 West and north of Bartlett Avenue.
The city of Moab City posted a map on its Facebook page of the specific affected area, as well as a list of locations where residents can buy bottled water.
Free water was also being made available at the city’s water department, according to the post. The department had stationed a water truck at 719 West 400 North in Moab on Thursday to provide clean culinary water. The truck will also be available at that location on Friday, officials said, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Residents were urged to bring their own clean water containers.
Attempts on Thursday by The Salt Lake Tribune to reach city officials in Moab for additional comment were unsuccessful.
Bradford said the health department plans to test for a broad spectrum of possible contaminants, with initial test results expected Friday afternoon.