Tuesday, June 06, 2000

By Marsha Paxson

LINN CREEK - Department of Natural Resources officials say a boil order in effect for the city of Linn Creek will stay in place until water samples from two consecutive days are acceptable.

"In this case the boil order is a precautionary measure because electrical problems to the system caused a loss of water pressure Saturday," said Steve Jones, chief of the Public Drinking Water Unit in the Jefferson City Regional Office. "We've been assured that the water is safe and pressure is now back up to about 20 pounds per square inch. But until we collect samples Monday and Tuesday we're telling them to keep the boil order in place."

Jones said the Linn Creek water system has a chlorinator that eliminates residual bacteria from the system. "This adds to the safety of the water in the event a system loses pressure for whatever reason."

City Clerk Sherile Johnston said a fuse blew on the system when it was overworked due to someone "abusing the water system" and the resulting power loss caused the tower to drain.

"When the system goes down like that, we are required to draw samples and follow DNR recommendations," Johnston said. "I started calling people on Sunday. Residents and businesses were either called or we hand delivered a boil order notice to them."

The notification forced the owners of the Tonka Hills Restaurant to close their doors Sunday, one of the busiest days of the week for the eatery on Highway 54.

"We knew something was wrong when we came in and the ice machines were down," said Mike Rollheiser, whose father owns Tonka Hills. "They require a constant source of water to run. Even after we spent $200 on ice Sunday, we just couldn't feel comfortable about opening."

Rollheiser said the Sunday shutdown was a loss of an estimated $3,000 worth of business. The family had not yet computed Monday into the deficit.

"We closed Monday and spent the entire day boiling water and buying water from safe sources," Rollheiser said. "We plan to open back up on Tuesday."

Veterinarian Jim Wilsman said bottled drinking water is being given to animals at the Lake of the Ozarks Animal Hospital.

"Other than that we use disinfectants in the bathing water and use heat sterilization on our instruments," Wilsman said. "The boil order really hasn't affected us."

Johnston said she expects the boil order to be lifted by the end of the week.

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-- Doris (reaper1@mindspring.com), June 06, 2000