August 28, 2006

 

The Quail Creek Water Treatment plant in St. George, Utah, closed down after it ran out of powder activated carbon for its filtration system.

The plant was taken over by Washington County Water Conservancy District earlier this year.

The closure led to poor water pressure in St. George and surrounding cities.

The affected cities had to put their wells into service in order to meet the communities’ water needs. Residents were also encouraged to conserve and not water their lawns.

According to Kutv.com, this it the first time the 20-year-old plant had run out of carbon.

The carbon was ready to be delivered a week prior to the incident, but a delivery truck was not available to make the shipment.

Barbara Hjelle, water district assistant general manager, told Kutv.com that since bulk carbon has to be delivered by pneumatic trucks, there are a limited number of trucks available.

Hjelle also said the water is safe to drink, but without the filtration it smells and tastes strange.