Hurley water tests favorable

By RALPH ANSAMI

[email protected]

Hurley — The levels of contaminants in the city of Hurley’s drinking water have dropped to acceptable levels for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Letters have been sent out to city residents from water department lead operator Gary Laguna, who said tests on Dec. 8 showed the levels of Trihalomethanes and Haloacetic acids “... have fallen back into and will remain within safe and acceptable limits.”

The city water department will continue to monitor the levels according to WDNR monitoring schedules and Hurley is prepared for additional monitoring, if necessary, Laguna said.

On Oct. 15, city water customers were notified routine water samples revealed contamination levels exceeding acceptable state and federal levels. The readings had spiked in August.

In a Tuesday letter, Laguna said steps to identify problems in the water distribution system included flushing the storage tank of “stale” water, addressing excess storage and reviewing operational procedures.

The contaminants had been measured in August at a level that could be cancer-causing, if consumed over many years. An initial letter to city residents said there was no “immediate” health risk from the water, however, and boiling wasn’t necessary.

Hurley purchases its water from both Ironwood and Montreal and water samples from those two communities have tested OK.

Laguna told Hurley City Council members earlier this month the city’s test readings had improved.