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Matt Sepic and MPR News Staff
Blaine, Minn.

City officials say Blaine's water safe to drink again

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Updated: Feb. 14, 5:43 a.m. | Posted: Feb. 13, 6:05 a.m.

City officials in Blaine say water in their community is safe to drink again. Late Monday night, they lifted a boil water advisory that had been in effect since Sunday, when residents noticed a big drop in pressure at their taps. Schools and many restaurants closed as a precaution.

Water pressure was restored Sunday night, soon after residents reported issues.

The city, which has around 64,000 residents, was temporarily without water last month, too. Five weeks ago, the city reported an early morning failure of its water delivery system. Schools were also closed during that incident and residents were told to boil their water.

City Manager Clark Arneson said the problems that caused the two situations aren't related.

This time, it was "a mechanical/electrical issue," Arneson said. He refused to answer in more detail, citing security concerns.

Blaine police investigated and found neither criminal intent nor action behind the water pressure drop, Arneson said.

Arneson said the water pressure loss Sunday was the result of a power supply failure at Water Tower Number 1 near Highways 10 and 65.

The city has three water towers plus an underground storage tank. When the power supply went on the fritz, Arneson said, the utility communication system was disrupted.

The problem started Saturday, Arneson said, and as water demand increased throughout the weekend, the system was unable to activate additional pumps to equalize the supply. He said it didn't send out alarms to the weekend on-call staff.

Blaine residents and businesses first reported problems with the water system around 5 p.m. Sunday.

Arneson said the water tower's power supply has been replaced and workers have already installed redundant notification systems. He also says outside experts are performing a technology and security audit.

The Anoka-Hennepin school district sent an email to those with children in Blaine schools saying the schools plan to be open Tuesday. The district plans to send updates through email and text, as well as post on its website and social media.