ANAMOSA – The city of Anamosa in Jones County is asking residents to use bottled water until they identify an unknown chemical that entered the water supply sometime over the weekend.
While mixing chemicals to treat drinking water on Friday afternoon, a city employee noticed the mixture looked different than it usually does. He shut down the pump, preventing the mixture from entering the water supply. However, the automated system later opened the valve and mixed the suspect chemical into the city’s water supply.
“The city hasn’t been able to verify that the correct chemical was received. People should err on the side of caution and drink bottled water until the chemical is verified,” said Amber Sauser, environmental specialist at the DNR’s Manchester field office.
The city and DNR are working with the chemical supply company to determine what chemical they delivered to Anamosa.
Between one and three gallons of the chemical was mixed into a dilute solution, which mixed into the city’s water storage of about 750,000 gallons.
The city is flushing the water distribution system and has contacted hospitals, schools, restaurants and other public facilities advising them to use bottled water.
Drinking water in the city is treated to remove radium.
The city or DNR will notify residents when water is safe to drink and the advisory is lifted.