originally posted on June 22, 2016

West Virginia American Water has issued a precautionary boil water advisory for any customers in the Oak Hill, Prudence, Hilltop, Redstar and Harvey areas who experienced low water pressure or a disruption in water service this evening. The advisory follows a booster station malfunction, which drained a water storage tank that serves part of Oak Hill and some areas south. Crews have returned the pump station to operation and the system is repressurizing. Customers will be notified of the advisory by the CodeRED notification system at 7 a.m.

Affected customers should boil their water before consumption until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms that may be present in the water. Customers are asked to bring water used for drinking, cooking, bathing and brushing teeth to a full boil for a minimum of one minute, then cool before use.

West Virginia American Water also recommends the following steps:

· Throw away beverages and ice cubes if made with tap water;

· Keep boiled water in the refrigerator for drinking;

· Provide pets with boiled water after cooling;

· Do not use home filtering devices in place of boiling or using bottled water; most home water filters will not provide adequate protection from microorganisms;

· Use only boiled water to treat minor injuries.

Once the system recovers, West Virginia American Water will be collecting additional water quality samples in the area of the outage. For more information, contact West Virginia American Water’s customer service center at 1-800-685-8660.