Royalton boil water order may be lifted this week

Staff Report

Published: 07-24-2023 10:39 PM

SOUTH ROYALTON — If test samples of water come back clean, the village of South Royalton could have its boil water order lifted sometime this week.

Judy Hayward, administrative assistant for Royalton Fire District No. 1, which furnishes public water to around 200 customers in South Royalton, said Monday that the water district flushed its hydrants this weekend and found good flow of chlorinated water. Samples from the water system will go out for testing Tuesday and the boil order could be lifted thereafter.

“I can’t give you any specific timetable, but it looks very hopeful,” Hayward said in a phone interview.

South Royalton is the only town remaining in the Upper Valley still under a boil order since heavy rains pummeled Vermont on July 9 and 10, causing widespread flooding damage.

The town’s boil-water order was caused by a high level of turbidity, or suspended particles, in water samples. Tests have not shown elevated levels of contaminants, Hayward said.

The fire district generally pumps water from the White River into a reservoir above the village. The flooding ended that practice.

“What was coming down the river was probably contaminated by a lot of nasty things,” Hayward said.

But water in the reservoir also was stirred up by the rain, causing the high turbidity that led to the boil water order.

The order affects a cross-section of town, including Vermont Law School, White River Valley School, many units of multifamily housing and the village’s restaurants, which have found ways to reopen.

Once the river starts to flow clean, the water district will resume pumping water from it to refill the reservoir, which typically holds about a 10-day supply of water, Hayward said.