All three high-service pumps faulted at once: city publishes its timeline of the Oct. 22 boil water notice

All three high-service pumps at Winter Springs' Water Treatment Plant #1 shut down at once early Thursday, Oct. 22, after a power problem, and the plant's computer systems rebooted even though they were connected to a backup power device, according to a timeline the city has now published.

The account, posted on the city's website Saturday and updated Sunday, walks through the morning that led to a precautionary boil water notice for the eastern service area. The notice was lifted Saturday after water samples came back clean.

Alarms, then low pressure

The city says staff at Woodard & Curran, the contractor that operates the plant, began getting alarms from Water Treatment Plant #1 at about 6:05 a.m. Five minutes later, dispatchers told city staff that residents were reporting low water pressure. Contractor and city utilities crews went to the plant, found the pumps had faulted, reset the system and got the pumps running again.

Woodard & Curran then brought in the city and its engineering consultant, Carollo Engineers. The operator advised that the city's other two treatment plants be inspected to make sure they had not been affected, and that pressure data be gathered to map which neighborhoods would need a boil water notice.

Who was told, and when

According to the timeline:

• The Florida Department of Environmental Protection was notified within an hour.
• The city's communications director called Seminole County Public Schools at about 7:35 a.m., followed by more calls and emails with a map just after 9 a.m.
• City staff, Woodard & Curran and Carollo held an emergency call at 8 a.m.
• The notice and a general map went up on the city's website by 9 a.m., an Alert Winter Springs message went out at 9:16 a.m. and social media posts followed at 9:21 a.m.

The city also sent a release to local media and its public information officer gave interviews that morning.

Testing and what comes next

The city stresses there were no breaks in the system. The notice was issued because untreated groundwater can enter pipes when pressure drops, and it could only be lifted after bacteriological tests came back clear. Samples taken Thursday afternoon were hand-carried to an outside lab and came back clean. A second round was collected Friday, and results Saturday morning showed the system clear.

The city says it has been in direct contact with the power provider, which the post calls Duke Power, to understand what caused the failure and what could prevent another one. The city manager, staff, the utilities department, plant operators and consultants will also review the city's internal procedures to find ways to improve its response, according to the post.

The posting does not name a cause for the power problem or estimate how many customers were under the notice.

Sources

winterspringsfl.org