Water Service Restored In Marion: Boil Advisory Explained

Water service has been restored in Marion. In a Facebook post officials of the Perry County city expressed its gratitude for the work crews and for patience by citizens impacted by the outage that began last Thursday afternoon.

In the restoration notice, water department officials asked residents to take a precautionary measure by continuing to boil water. "The City of Marion Water Department is issuing a Boil Water Advisory for all customers as a precautionary measure due to reduced system pressure and loss of services during ongoing infrastructure repairs. This advisory is a standard public health protocol and does not indicate a known contamination event. It will remain in effect until system repairs have fully stabilized, and water quality testing has confirmed that boiling is no longer necessary.

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"Until further notice, customers are advised to boil water prior to consumption, including for the following purposes:

Drinking, meal preparation and cooking, preparing beverages and ice, brushing teeth, and preparing infant formulas.
Boiling Procedure:
- Water should be brought to a boil for a minimum of one (1) minute and then allowed to cool before use.
Water may continue to be used for: handwashing, bathing and showering, and general household cleaning.
Customers can bathe and wash clothes, as well as wash hands for 20 seconds with soap and water.

As outlined above, this advisory is a standard public health protocol. Updates will continue to be communicated promptly as conditions change."

With water beginning to return, customers are being reminded that cloudy or sputtering water from their faucet is normal as air clears from the lines and pressure stabilizes. They are asked to allow the water to run until the water clears. However, residents should not run multiple faucets simultaneously.

While happy service is being restored, some customers like Mitt Baker are questioning the repeated outages.

"I hope this situation also pushes our city leadership to take a hard look at how we got here and what needs to change moving forward," Baker wrote on the city's Facebook site. "The community has heard for years that grant money was awarded in 2023 for water system upgrades, and now we’re hearing that additional grants are being sought. If that’s the case, residents deserve clear communication about:

• Why those funds haven’t been utilized yet

• What specific steps are being taken to prevent another shutdown

• Whether a redundancy plan will be implemented to avoid future outages

• A written timeline and plan so citizens can measure progress

• Regular updates on infrastructure work going forward."

Marion Mayor Dexter Hinton has estimated it will take $29 million to bring the water system up to current standards.