Airway Heights water samples to be collected Wednesday morning.
AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. — After the first round of test results showed at least some contaminants were still in the water, Airway Heights officials planned to collect more samples Wednesday morning after continued flushing of the water system over Memorial Day weekend.
City officials announced Friday that residents would need to continue drinking bottled water for about another week after testing results showed six of 17 samples still had contaminants above the "action level."
They have been drinking bottled water since May 16, when officials announced there were high levels of two different contaminants in the water and urged residents not to drink it.
The acids in the water are classified by the EPA as emerging contaminants and are present in common household items and heat and fire resistant products, including aqueous film forming foam formulations that were used by the Air Force in fire trucks from 1970-2016 including those at Fairchild AFB.
PREVIOUS: City of Airway Heights completes first round of testing, water still unsafe to drink City Manager Albert Tripp said over the holiday weekend, about 8 million gallons were flushed or used in the Airway Heights water system.
“We still have other uses occurring, like irrigating, showering, washing dishes,” Tripp explained.
He said they will collect 21 samples over the next few days and then hope to have the test results back by the end of the week.
Residents are still able to get free water from behind the Airway Heights Yokes.
Editor’s note: The original version of this story said sample collection would begin Tuesday night, but officials announced Tuesday evening they would not begin sample collection until Wednesday.