A boiling pot of water. Image generated by Grok.
SIERRA BROOKS — Sierra Brooks has remained under a boil water notice since September 16th, 2024. The notice was issued after the Sierra County Public Works Department found E. coli bacteria in samples taken from the subdivision’s county-ran water system before the Bear Fire. The bacteria was not deemed to be significant in that test, with Public Works Director Bryan Davey saying that it was “not abnormal in an untreated water system.” However, a retest after the fire showed a substantial increase and caused the boil water notice to be issued. Davey speculated that E. coli levels were worsened due to stress on the system during the fire.
Chlorine has since been used to sterilize the system. All chlorine must be flushed before a retest can be completed, but chlorine was still present on Friday, September 28th, causing further delay. Lower water usage as temperatures cool contributed to chlorine not being flushed as quickly as may have been expected. The County is working closely with the California Department of Water, which will complete its own “stage 2 evaluation” after the system’s water is deemed safe to drink by the County.
Though Davey hopes that the next tests will come up clean, he notes that there is always the potential of a crack in the line or some other form of contamination. Davey views that as a “worst-case scenario,” which would significantly impact the County’s timeline for getting drinkable tap water back on the menu in Sierra Brooks.
According to Davey, there has been some discontent in the Sierra Brooks Community over whether the County is doing all it can to resolve the issue. Davey did his best to put those accusations to rest, saying that his department was doing everything possible. He also noted that there has been no loss of use of the system.