Chaffee boil-water order continues

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- The boil-water order for Chaffee's municipal water supply remains in effect more than a week after being issued.

Bottled water is selling briskly, according to employees of area stores, though plenty could be found on shelves Tuesday afternoon at the Food Giant and Dollar Store.

Misty Cline, director of nursing at the Chaffee Nursing Center, said her staff is using five-gallon jugs of water delivered in bulk.

"We're using bottled water for everything -- making lemonade, brushing teeth," she said. "We're buying ice by the bag and passing out fresh pitchers of water every shift."

She said the shift from tap water "hasn't been much of a problem."

Cline said the biggest hurdle she's faced in adapting since the boil-water order was issued by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources on Aug. 26 is at home with her two children, ages 8 and 1.

"I have to be careful with the baby during baths," she said.

At Chaffee City Hall, employees responded water-related questions from people who called or asked as they used the drive-through window to pay bills, telling people the order was still in effect.

"We're doing the best we can," the city clerk, Diane Eftink, told one man. Last week, city officials found a list of tips on the DNR Web site and made copies to hand out to visitors.

It's been one week since Missouri Department of Natural Resources issued the order. Mike Wyatt, an environmental specialist for the department, was in the city today inspecting the water.

Tests through Friday didn't reflect an appropriate amount of chlorine, according to Jack Baker, environmental section chief of the DNR's Poplar Bluff office. He said the water system must show appropriate chlorine levels and further tests must show no bacteria for 48 hours before the order can be lifted, which could be as early as Thursday.

Not everyone was willing to wait. Laura Estes, owner of the Chaffee Drive In, said the boil-water hurt her business. When city workers were testing in her area, she invited them to check the drive-in's water. When the chlorine level checked out, Estes asked the Scott County Health Department for permission to resume selling soft drinks. She posted the county's permission letter on the drive-in's window and started selling carbonated drinks Friday.

"While everything was shut down there was nothing else to do, so we cleaned," she said.

Both five-gallon and individual-size water bottles were on hand at Chaffee public schools.

Shirley Childers, a West Davidson Circle resident, said she's sticking to bottled water rather than boiling tap water. She said water from the faucets in her home continues to carry a strong odor.

"I'm a little bit afraid of it yet. Until they say all clear, I'm not going to drink it," she said.

Baker said other small towns have experienced extended boil-water orders from time to time.

He said it's important that people boil water used for drinking and cooking until the order is lifted. Chlorine kills bacteria in the water.

Baker said small children, elderly people and those with medical conditions are the most at-risk for developing water-related illnesses.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127

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