Life is a little more settled for Havre High School English teacher Tricia Williams Ferry since the city downgraded its boil advisory at the end of May.
“Yeah, it’s been a huge relief and things have returned to normal as normal is,” said Williams Ferry.
Environmental regulators stepped in following water treatment violations earlier this year and, in April, a third case of giardiasis, an intestinal infection often transmitted through contaminated water. The primary symptom is diarrhea.
The cases were likely connected to the public water system, according to a report the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services and the Hill County Health Department published in late May. Their investigation found a 56 percent uptick in healthcare visits connected to diarrhea from January to May this year over last.
Regulators visited Havre in May to meet with employees, provide training and gather information for a comprehensive performance evaluation with recommended improvements.
“It’s gonna be up to a collaborative effort between the city of Havre and our enforcement program and public water supply program to figure out what are the best ways for this to never happen again,” said Lisa Kaufman with the Department of Environmental Quality.
Havre public works director Trevor Mork said the city has been continuing to flush out its system and working to maintain a consistent level of treatment.
“Some of the actions that the city of Havre has taken following the preliminary feedback from the CPE is having more written policy in place to understand what the water treatment quality that we want to achieve is put into place,” said Mork.
Regulators also previously indicated more training would be needed for newer employees. The city is due to receive its full comprehensive performance evaluation by the end of July.
