Many communities go under boil order 5 p.m. Wednesday
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The switchover of a large valve in the Saline Valley Conservancy District system has prompted a series of boil orders for area municipalities and some rural customers of the district.
Construction has been under way for some time in the replacement of the large main that runs from the treatment plant in Gallatin County to Harrisburg.
Larry Phelps of the district on Tuesday said the switching of the valve, one of the key items in completing the project, most probably will take workmen about 10 to 14 hours.
Harrisburg water officials said water tanks are filled and there will be no problem supplying the demand while work is under way.
Switching the valve will require water to be drained from the supply main for about a mile, and then the valve will be switched. Once the work is done, the line again will be pressurized and Harrisburg storage tanks will be topped off Wednesday night.
Once the switchover is complete, state environmental requirements cause a boil-water order to be in place until water samples are checked in state labs for water purity. A boil order is required whenever a line is depressurized, which will be the case on Wednesday.
The Conservancy District today issued a boil-water order starting 5 p.m. Wednesday until the order is lifted.
The district's order is for all its customers in Cottage Township west of Equality.
Harrisburg has issued a similar order for all customers of the city water system and the village of Carrier Mills also has issued a boil-water order, effective 5 p.m. Wednesday.
The village of Muddy also is under a boil order, starting at 5 p.m.
Phelps said Stonefort and Creal Springs also are affected. Those communities are expected to issue boil orders, too.
In a move to end the boil orders as soon as possible, Phelps said daily water samples are being driven to the state's laboratory in Carbondale for testing rather than sent by courier. That, he said, will speed the process and the large-area boil order can be lifted sooner.