Downieville is still stuck on boil. A townwide boil-water order remains in place as local crews scramble to refill storage tanks and run lab tests to make sure the taps are safe again. Until then, residents are being told to boil or use bottled water for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth and washing dishes. For questions, the Downieville Public Utility District lists a public contact at (530) 289-2774
The advisory, posted on social media and shared around town, instructs residents to "bring water to a rolling boil for one to three minutes" before using it for drinking or food preparation. It also reminds people not to call the sheriff's office for status updates and to contact the utility directly instead, according to the Downieville Public Utility District.
What residents should do
Health officials advise boiling all tap water for one to three minutes before drinking, cooking, making ice, or brushing teeth. When in doubt, residents—especially infants and those with weakened immune systems—should use bottled water.
Ice and drinks made with tap water should be treated as potentially unsafe until the advisory is lifted, and any existing ice should be tossed. Local reporting notes that the notice is likely to remain in place for around a week while crews top off tanks and complete follow-up testing, as reported by KOLO.
Why the order was issued
Officials say the trouble started when high river flows kicked up sediment at the intake, making the source water unusually cloudy, a condition known as turbidity. Pumps were shut down, leaving the town to run on its storage tanks until those dropped to critically low levels.
Once the tanks ran low, operators restarted pumping and issued a precautionary boil notice while the distribution system is flushed and sampled. Coverage by The Mountain Messenger and 2News has more detail on the causes and the emergency response behind the scenes.
When the advisory could be lifted
The boil-water order will stay in effect until water samples show the distribution system is free of contamination and state regulators formally clear the system. The State Water Resources Control Board outlines the step-by-step process for testing, reporting and public notification that systems must follow before a notice can be cancelled.
