A days-long boil order in Clinton has been lifted.

The City made the announcement just after 9 am on Tuesday morning. 

The boil order went into effect last Wednesday. 

Last week, residents were reporting unpleasant smells and discoloration stemming from the water supply. The City indicated it was due to a level sensor that went bad and took ten days to get a new sensor. 

There was also issues with the lime-softening system but it had been up and running since January 3, however, the City Water Department noted it could take up to two weeks to get water to properly flush out iron in the water.

Chlorine and bleach odors have been reported in the Clinton water for a few months now but the Water Department indicated at the time of the reported other issues, tests on the water were normal.

The water department says there was a miscommunication with the Illinois EPA office in Springfield about a sample that was submitted last week. The failed sample from last Wednesday triggered the boil order and a re-sample was immediately submitted.

The prolonged nature of the boil order stemmed from communication issues between the Illinois EPA office in Springfield and with the City of Clinton.

Clinton officials hoped to receive notice of the re-sample results late last Friday or Saturday, however, after several attempts to reach the Illinois EPA were unsuccessful, the boil order lasted through the weekend and into Monday. 

School was postponed last Thursday and yesterday (Monday) in Clinton due to the boil order.

Many local establishments have been impacted in recent days due to the boil order as well. 

Commissioner John Wise has requested representatives from the Illinois EPA attend the Clinton City Council meeting next week for answers regarding why communication during the process broke down.