Water contamination closes Le Pera School

Le Pera Elementary School is closed Monday and Tuesday after receiving an E. coli notice and boil advisory from the Colorado River Indian Tribes.

CRIT Water Utilities informed school officials late Friday that a routine sample taken from a water tower at the school had tested positive for E. coli. A water line from the tower was re-routed, and multiple tests were conducted over the weekend to ensure that no contamination remains, according to the CRIT public notice.

“As simply a precautionary measure, it is necessary to close the school while CRIT Water Utilities takes this corrective action,” said Le Pera Principal Brian Wedemeyer. “We will re-open the school once we are certain the water is safe to use.”

The La Paz County Girls Volleyball Invitational that was scheduled over the weekend was also cancelled.

The CRIT notice said that the area affected is between Tahbo Road and Nez Road, a mostly agricultural area of the valley south of Parker, and did not affect other areas. Residents in the area have been told to boil their water before using it until the tower is cleared for use.

Routine water testing is a normal part of public water systems maintenance.