Hopeful signs for Bostonians

Latest news from the Globe (emphasis mine):

State officials urged residents to take seriously an order to boil all water used for drinking and cooking, even as they acknowledged that the likelihood of becoming sick from the water is small. Pipes into affected homes and businesses are now delivering mostly-clean water through a backup system, but about 3 to 5 percent is “pond water” from the Chestnut Hill Reservoir.

The water is being heavily chlorinated to kill bacteria, but the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority said people shouldn’t drink it because no test results are back yet on bacteria levels.

[...]

“So far, the repairs are going well,” Convery said. “We are hopeful that [pressure testing] will be completed by the morning. Things are moving along quickly and in the right direction.”

The next step, she said, will be to test the quality of the water. Even after the pipes are repaired, the order to boil water will remain in place for at least two days until officials can conduct at least two separate water-quality tests to confirm that the region’s water supply is again safe to drink.

[Globe link]