City Officials Still Investigating Blaine Water Outage

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – City officials are still investigating what caused a water outage in Blaine last Sunday that caused a 24-hour boil alert.

A preliminary investigation shows a software application that notifies utility workers when the water level in the tower is low was not working. Officials say they've already implemented a redundant notification system to ensure staff receives alarms in the future.

Blaine residents started reporting water problems just after 8 a.m. last Sunday and within about 20 minutes, city officials were notified that there was a city-wide water outage. After about an hour, utility workers activated all city wells, seasonal wells and cross connections with Coon Rapids and Spring Lake Park to restore water service as fast as possible.

A 24-hour boil alert was issued due to a loss of water pressure in the system. City officials say it's a standard procedure, and they don't believe water was contaminated at any time.

Blaine's water system was restored by early Sunday afternoon, and operations were normal by Monday. A half dozen schools were closed on Monday for precautionary measures while the water was tested to ensure safety.

City officials are also looking into how to communicate better to residents if and when events like this happen in the future. Officials believe there is nothing criminal or suspicious connected to the outage, but Blaine police are still investigating that possibility.