Mapleton residents are still under a boil water order since a water main leak last week. The problem-plagued Mapleton Water District was dealing with faulty equipment and the leak caused a loss in pressure.
Julie Doran-Lee is a Mapleton Water District board member. She said the leak was fixed and the water treatment plant is now functioning. But, until tests confirm the water is safe to drink, residents must boil their water
“As, hopefully, everybody already understands, our distribution system is way past its expiration date and can crumble at a moment’s notice,” Doran-Lee said. "So another leak can put us right back into this.”
Lane County sent pallets of bottled water to the Mapleton Food Share for residents on Monday, Doran-Lee told KLCC. She said she hopes residents can take some for use now and also save water for future emergencies.
Last winter, the Mapleton Water District had a longer water outage. Through mutual aid agreements, neighboring utilities, including EWEB, sent water distribution trucks for residents to fill containers with water.
Doran-Lee said the district is seeking funds to replace their water distribution system, which could cost tens of millions of dollars.
“We don’t have funds to replace all of this,” said Doran-Lee.
“It’s far beyond our capabilities. Having water insecurity is devastating to a community.”
