During a boil order, tap water must be brought to a rolling boil three minutes before being used in food preparation or for making beverages, such as coffee and tea.
In response to Monday morning’s water main break, Owensboro Health opened its emergency command center, canceled elective surgeries at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital and closed many of its medical offices and other facilities by noon.
Other OH closures included the Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center; family, rheumatology, occupational medicine and pediatrics clinics; and the business center on Frederica Street.
With the exception of endoscopies, it looked as though it would keep its surgery schedule, said Brian Hamby, OH director of marketing and public relations.
However, that changed about 11 a.m. with a drop in water pressure.
Owensboro Municipal Utilities instructed homes and businesses that still had access to tap water Monday to boil it for three minutes before preparing food or drink with it.
Green River District Health Department pulled staff from its seven-county region to visit area restaurants about the boil order and other sanitation issues related to water and food preparation, said Clay Horton, public health director.
Even restaurants with water pressure must provide hand sanitizer for staff and customers to use after washing hands.
The nursing home keeps almost 1,400 gallons of potable water on hand all the time, Whitlow said.
The maintenance staff also filled one-gallon jugs of water to send home with staff so they would be able to flush their toilets, too.