People in McAdam are going to have to keep rationing water for at least another week as a result of ongoing water quality issues plaguing the village.

For five weeks, residents have been told to conserve water. One of the village's four wells has been shut down because of contamination by manganese and bacteria, a second well keeps running dry.

The well can't keep up with demand, according to James Little, the village operations officer.

Meanwhile, cleanup of the contaminated well has been delayed by a week while necessary parts are reordered, Mayor Frank Carroll said.

"The brushes that were ordered are just too strong a brush, or too heavy a brush, and they may cause some impact with the inside walls of the well," said Carroll.

"They've requested a lighter kind of material that will not cause as much impact and therefore give a better chance for the well to be rehabilitated."

He said some of the delay is due to the distance the needed parts have to travel.

"These brushes come from Texas, so there's a delay in waiting for the second order. But we are assured by the end of the week so we hope to get started on Monday."

Village residents have cut their water consumption by more than a fifth, and will have to continue to conserve.

Recent rainfall, sometimes torrential, has not helped the situation in McAdam. Water levels in the two troubled wells have not risen.

On top of the water woes, residents will have to deal with even less water during the rehabilitaion work, when both wells will be shut down for 48 hours.

It's unclear what caused the problems, but some people in the community wonder if several recent small earthquakes played a role.