All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The State Department of Health is expected to lift the boil water advisory it placed on Connell sometime today. More tests of the city's water have determined the system is clean of E. coli bacteria. One water sample taken Saturday was contaminated with other bacteria, but five others came up clean.
City officials expect to hear whether the advisory is being lifted around noon.
E. coli first turned up in routine tests taken Thursday, when four of five water samples failed to meet standards. Ever since, the city's 2,780 residents have been asked to boil their water before they consume it. Test results started improving before the city took any corrective action, when nine of 12 samples taken Friday turned up clean. The city then added chlorine to its reservoir and flushed it through the system. After taking samples again Saturday, more chlorine was added.