Boil advisory for Oak Street

Will remain in place until at least 5 p.m. Friday

by Jeff Gilliland, originally posted on January 11, 2017

 

A boil advisory that was initiated Tuesday evening for a small portion of Hillsboro will remain effect until at early Friday evening, Hillsboro Water Plant Supervisor Jason Bernard said Wednesday.

The boil advisory was put in place for the 100, 200 and 300 blocks of Oak Street due to a water main break Tuesday night.

Bernard said the advisory will remain in place until at least 5 p.m. Friday because that’s when the lab test results for water from the break site are expected to be received.

“It’s really just a precaution because 99.9 percent of the time there really isn’t anything to worry about,” Bernard said.

He said only water that is going to be used for cooking or drinking needs to be boiled.

Bernard said the state mandates that a boil advisory be issued for impacted areas whenever there is a break in water lines.

“We’ve had so many of them lately it’s hard to keep track,” Bernard said.

The break was repaired Tuesday. After learning of the break Bernard said he faxed a message to the local radio station, then contacted the city, which faxed The Times-Gazette a copy of the alert Wednesday morning.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the water should be boiled until bubbles come from the bottom to the top of whatever the water is being boiled in. Once the water reaches a rolling boil, it should continue to boil for one minute.

If you are unable to boil water, it should be disinfected instead.

To disinfect if the tap water is clear, use unscented bleach. Add one-eighth teaspoon (eight drops or about 0.75 liters) of unscented household liquid bleach to one gallon of water. Mix well and wait 30 minutes before drinking.

If the tap water is cloudy, filter the water using a clear cloth. Then follow the steps for clear water.

Other information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the event of a boil advisory include:

• To sanitize containers, use unscented bleach. Make a sanitizing solution by mixing one teaspoon of unscented household liquid bleach in one quart of water. Pour the solution into a clean storage container and shake well, making sure that the solution coats the entire inside of the container. Let the clean storage container sit at least 30 seconds, then pour the solution out of the container. Let the empty container air dry or rinse with clean water that has already been made safe.

• Boil tap water even if it is filtered. Most kitchen and other household water filters typically do not remove bacteria or viruses.

• When bathing and showering, be careful not to swallow any water.

• Brush teeth with boiled or bottled water.

• For washing dishes, most household dishwashers generally are safe to use if the water reaches a final rinse temperature of at least 150 degrees, or if the dishwasher has a sanitizing cycle. If washing dishes by hand, follow the rules for safe water above before using it to rinse dishes.

• It is safe to do laundry as usual.

• Pets can can get some of the same diseases as people. It is a good idea to give them boiled water that has been cooled.

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