originally posted on July 23, 2016

MORRIS TOWNSHIP – A water main break occurred Friday evening at 334 Columbia Turnpike in Morris Township which caused customers within the service area to be without water or experience a significant loss of pressure, according to the Southeast Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) in a statement issued Saturday.

A potential or actual threat to the quality of water being provided currently exists as of Saturday, according to the statement. As a precaution, the MUA is implementing a limited Boil Water Advisory until testing of the water supply is deemed satisfactory.

What should I do?

Effective immediately and until further notice, customers within the impacted service area are instructed to bring tap water to a rolling boil for one minute and allow the tap water to cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking; preparing foods; mixing baby formula, food, juices or drinks; washing vegetables and fruit; cooking; making ice; brushing teeth; and washing dishes until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.

The following measures are also recommended:

• Throw away uncooked food or beverages or ice cubes made with tap water during the day of the advisory;
• Keep boiled water in the refrigerator for drinking;
• Do not swallow water while showering or bathing;
• Rinse hand-washed dishes with a diluted bleach solution (one tablespoon of household bleach per gallon of tap water) or clean your dishes in a dishwasher using the hot wash cycle and dry cycle;
• 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;
• Provide pets with drinking water that has been boiled and cooled.

Residents are advised to continue to boil water or use bottled water until notified that the water quality is satisfactory. This advisory will remain in effect until repairs are completed and testing shows the water quality to be safe.

If customers have any questions, contact Paul Kozakiewicz, superintendent, email pkozakiewicz@smcmua.org, tel. 973-326-6865; or Laura Cummings, executive director / chief engineer, email lcummings@smcmua.org, tel. 973-326-6866

Visit smcmua.org for further updates.