Trentwood Irrigation District reports water safe to drink

The water in the Trentwood area of Spokane Valley is safe to drink, an official with Trentwood Irrigation District No. 3 said this morning. Three East Valley schools were shut down Tuesday and 1,600 residents were asked not to drink their water after a well malfunctioned, pumping dirty water with sediment into the system, district officials said. Crews have tested the water and found no harmful substances, said Devon Sinsley, assistant manager of the district. Crews also flushed the system all day yesterday, he said. While some water may still have a brown color, it is safe to drink and the color will clear as the system continues to flush out any remaining sediment, he said. The three Spokane Valley schools that closed Tuesday were due to reopen today with bottled water on hand for drinking until the water was shown to be safe, the Associated Press reported. The affected areas were Plante’s Ferry Park east to Isenhart and from Bigelow Gulch Road to the Spokane River. Spokane Industrial Park and Kaiser Aluminum were not affected, nor were private wells.