October 7, 2022 3:00 p.m. 

Officials with the City of Yoncalla lifted “Conserve” and “Boil Water” orders on Friday afternoon.

City Administrator Jennifer Bragg said water samples tested at Umpqua Research in Myrtle Creek confirmed that water coming from the community’s water treatment system meets Oregon Health Authority and federal standards and is safe to drink. Water customers in Yoncalla and five nearby water districts had been under the orders for nearly a week, after the plant’s main water line burst on September 29th, leading to extensive damage in the facility.

When service began to be restored, higher elevation customers found that they had minimal water pressure or in some cases, no pressure at all. Storage towers were also slow to fill. Bragg brought in outside experts to help staff work on the situation. Once all customers had normal pressure on Thursday night, then water samples were able to be gathered for the testing.

Bragg said the community has been “incredible” in dealing with the situation. She said staff gave out around 10,000 cases of water while the situation was worked on. Bragg said half of that was hand-delivered to residents. Bragg even slept in her car outside the city offices, so that she was available in case residents needed water over night.

Bragg said while the community has crossed a big hurdle, there is much more work for she and her staff to do. Bragg said she wants to make sure something like this never happens again and will work to get ahead of the curve, instead of being behind it.