SNOQUALMIE – Some Snoqualmie residents will eventually have a little more in their water than just two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.

Under order of the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), the city will start to add chlorine to the spring that supplies water to the city’s historical district sometime within the next eight to 12 months.

“There is no contamination in the water now, so it’s not hazardous to drink,” said Snoqualmie Public Works Director Kirk Holmes. “This is a routine thing that happens all the time.”

The spring that has supplied Snoqualmie’s historical district with water, the Canyon Spring, is near the North Fork of the Snoqualmie River and surges out about 900 gallons of water per minute. Holmes said the spring has supplied water to the city as long as it has had a water system.

“It’s been there at least 80 years,” Holmes said.

The city was notified it had to add chlorine to the spring after the DOH ran tests that showed the spring has a “hydraulic connection” to the basin of the Snoqualmie River. Under Washington law, any water source that has a connection to surface water must be chlorinated if it is tapped for public use.

Despite the DOH mandate to chlorinate the water, Holmes said the water remains safe to drink.

For the complete story, pick up a copy of this week’s Valley Record