CALEB NICKERSON

SHAWVILLE Nov. 11, 2020 

Shawville residents may soon be able to drink their tap water without boiling it, as work on the town’s water tower is set to be completed in the next couple weeks. 

The tower had to have several panels replaced due to wear and tear, a process that required the tower to be completely disassembled. In an interview on Nov. 5, Shawville councillor Bill McCleary said that . . .

crews were finishing up the final assembly of the tower. 

“When it is all put back together, there is a curing time for the caulking and stuff they use between the panels and around the screws, which I believe is five or six days,” he said. 

The next step will be to slowly fill the tower, and also to add a cathode system that will help protect the structure from corrosion. Once the tank is refilled and sanitized, the water needs to be tested before the boil advisory can be taken off. McCleary was grateful that the process was nearing completion. 

“We’re getting close, we’re getting to where we can see daylight,” he said. “I would say by next Friday [Nov. 13] it should be filled, but I can’t say when we can drink the water again legally, because I think you have to get two good tests back before you can take the advisory off and the tests take about three days each, by the time they’re taken, go to the lab and get the results. I would say definitely within two weeks, but hopefully sooner.”