Camp Meeker residents told to boil water

Camp Meeker residents are being advised to boil water before using it after a water transmission line broke, causing a spill into Dutch Bill Creek and causing some pipes to run dry.

Hal Wood, general manager for the district, which serves 365 residences in west Sonoma County, said repairs were being made Tuesday and he hoped the boil-water notice would be lifted by Thanksgiving Day.

The boil-water notice is a precautionary measure required by the county Department of Health Services whenever a water line goes dry, which can create a vacuum that could suck sediment in at joint gaskets.

“We took water samples yesterday and we are taking some more today,” Wood said.

All customers of the water system, owned by the Camp Meeker Park and Recreation District, had water service Tuesday morning.

There are also 18 customers in Occidental, but because the lines have a diversion valve the Occidental residents are not under the boil-water notice.

Wood said that if the 10 feet of ruptured line could not be repaired Tuesday, water officials will consider rerouting water from the Occidental storage tanks to Camp Meeker or even trucking water in.

The break occurred on Monday. Because the water is treated with chlorine, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and state Fish and Game are monitoring the effect on Dutch Bill Creek, Wood said.