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No water, no problem for tough Pierce County town

For residents in a tiny town in Pierce County, it's been bottled or boiled water since Wednesday afternoon. The 650 person town of Carbonado is under a boil water advisory because the water line was damaged Wednesday morning.

But for the residents, no water for a couple days is no problem.

TRANSCRIPT

The town at the base of Mount Rainier had to shut off water service for a couple hours this week because a construction accident damaged the water line.

Since then, Washington health officials advised that they boil water or drink bottled water until tests come back clean. But town clerk Daillene Argo said it hasn't been a big deal.

Argo: "I mean, if you think about it we lose power up here quite often, so really being ready for stuff, we're ready."

Argo said some residents continued to drink tap water anyway.

The town has a saloon, a church and a K-12 school.

Argo: "The school has done very well, they already had drinking water stored for emergencies anyway, and there was enough water in the line to maintain flushing the toilets."

The town’s water is back on now.

Carbonado is preparing to replace the water main. The issue came about when a sub-contractor for the town hit the water line when doing a geological assessment. Health officials say a break in the line can allow potentially harmful contaminates to enter the water system.

Water test results are expected back as soon as Friday.

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