by Sarah Valdivieso, originally posted on January 14, 2017

Chuck Samples, originally posted on January 13, 2017

by Amy Marchiano, originally posted on January 14, 2017

MINERSVILLE — Customers of the Minersville Municipal Water Authority should boil their water until further notice.

The authority issued a boil water advisory earlier this week because of a water main break that took place about 5:30 a.m. Thursday and affects the entire system of 3,200 connections, or about 6,500 people.

“The break was on a Reading Anthracite haul road off of Valley Road in Cass Township. It was a 14 inch main, and because of the large dimension of the pipe and the severity of the break, customers in the outer regions of our system were without water for a short time. Hence the reason for the boil water advisory. If all of our coliform samples come back negative, the boil water will be lifted on Monday,” Melanie Spittler, authority manager, said in an email.

According to a notice posted on the borough’s website, www.minersvilleonline.com, there is an increased chance that the loss of positive water pressure could allow contamination to enter the system.

Customers should not drink the water before boiling it. The notice advises customers to bring all water to a rolling boil, let stand for one minute and cool before using. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth and food preparation until notified otherwise, the notice said.

Notification will be made when appropriate. Questions should be directed to the Minersville Municipal Water Authority at 570-544-2200.

by Donna Campbell, originally posted on January 13, 2017

A boil-water notice issued by the Mississippi State Department of Health Thursday will remain in effect until samples come back clear for two consecutive days, an official with the department said Friday afternoon.

The agency issued the alert for the 12,500 customers who receive their drinking water from the City of Brookhaven water supply after samples taken Wednesday showed the presence of E. coli and total coliform bacteria.

Health officials strongly recommend that all water be boiled vigorously for one minute before it is consumed.

Liz Sharlot, director of communications for the state Department of Health, said Friday that the state needed to see “two days of clear samples” before the advisory can be lifted.

Samples were collected Thursday and Friday.

She said as soon as the sample tests show there is no presence of E. coli or coliform bacteria, the advisory would be lifted. That could be as early as today, but Sharlot did not know when the advisory could be lifted.

Customers can go to healthyms.com and search under boil-water notices for the latest status for Brookhaven, she said.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency sets drinking water standards and has determined that the presence of E. coli is a serious health concern. Fecal coliforms and E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. Microbes in these wastes can cause short-term effects such as diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches or other symptoms. They may pose a special health risk for infants, young children and people with severely compromised immune systems.

The presence of these bacteria in water generally results from a problem with the treatment process or pipes which distribute the water.

Kris Xifos, the superintendent for the Brookhaven Water Department, attributes the contamination to leaks in water lines Monday that were caused by the freezing temperatures over the weekend. He said leaks were repaired Monday and water is treated with chlorine daily.

Customers were confused Thursday because soon after the state issued the boil-water alert, the city said the alert effected only the 30 blocks between East Cherokee Street and South First Street. Then an hour later, Xifos released a statement saying that because the state put the entire city under a boil-water alert, everyone served by the City of Brookhaven’s water supply should take the necessary precautions advised by the state.

Sharlot said she was not aware of any confusion, but stressed that customers should follow the state’s advice. “If we do a state imposed boil-water alert, you should do what we say,” she said.

Checklist for safe water use:

DO NOT
• Do not drink tap water while the water system is under a boil water advisory.
• Do not drink from water fountains in parks, public or private buildings that receive water from the affected system.
• Do not use ice unless it has been made with boiled water. Freezing will not necessarily kill harmful bacteria.
• Do not use tap water to make drinks, juices, or fountain soft drinks.

DO
• Wash your dishes in boiled water, or use paper plates for the next few days.
• Wash your fruits and vegetables with boiled or bottled water since they may have been exposed to affected water from grocery store sprayers.
• Wash your hands and bathe as usual. Bathing is safe as long as no water is swallowed.
• Brush your teeth with boiled or bottled water.
• Cook with tap water if the food will be boiled for at least one minute.

AND REMEMBER:
• Properly chlorinated water in swimming pools is safe.
• Fish in aquariums are not affected.
• Bringing water to a rolling boil for one minute will inactivate all major types of harmful bacteria.

WHEN THE BOIL-WATER ALERT IS LIFTED:
• Flush faucets for a total of 10 minutes to introduce system water throughout house plumbing.
• Flush any faucet a minimum of 2 minutes to ensure clearing of the line serving the faucet.
• Discard any drinks, ice, food, etc, made during the boil water notice.
• Rewash any food or drink contact items (knives, forks, plates, etc.) with “cleared” system water.
• Check water filters (in faucets, refrigerators and elsewhere) and replace if necessary.
• Do not use water from your hot water heater for drinking until several exchanges of the tank have occurred.
• Run dishwasher through a cycle or two before washing dishes.

originally posted on January 13, 2017

The entire communities of Spickard and Chula have been placed under precautionary boil advisories for this weekend.

For Spickard, there was a water outage lasting several hours yesterday and into late last night. After parts were obtained, repairs were completed about 10:30 last night to a broken water main. The precautionary boil advisory for all customers at Spickard is to be in effect until Monday morning. It’s a routine72-hour period to allow time for samples to be tested.

For all customers at Chula, the precautionary boil advisory continues until further notice. Officials overnight provided information stating that the advisory was issued because of low water pressure in the system due to a structure fire within the city limits and maintenance work at the water tower.

The affected area includes all customers connected to the town of Chula water system.

The advisory began this morning at Chula and will remain in effect until water samples indicate there are no contaminants present.

Right now, crews are working to restore water to LaPlace Park and surrounding areas.

by Crystal Carr, originally posted on January 13, 2017

LAPLACE, La. —

A boil water advisory remains in place for LaPlace due to the loss of water pressure

Residents are being asked to boil water before eating or drinking. Showering and bathing has not been affected, St. John the Baptist Parish officials said.

Right now, crews are working to restore water to LaPlace Park and surrounding areas.

Residents should boil water for one full minute in a clean container. The one-minute boil begins after the water has been brought to a rolling boil. If there is a flat taste, it can be eliminated by shaking the water in a bottle or pouring it from one container to another.

Updates will be issued once the boil water advisory has been lifted and the restoration is complete.

UPDATE: Enderby water back on but boil advisory remains.
UPDATE 5:55 P.M. – The City of Enderby has restored water supply east of the Enderby (Len Bawtree) Bridge.
This includes water used for washing produce, making ice, and brushing teeth,” said Tate Bengtson, chief administrative officer.
A drinking water main break has occurred at a critical place in the City of Enderby’s water distribution system – where the water line crosses the Shuswap River.
At this time, there is no water service east of the Enderby (Len Bawtree) Bridge, meaning that approximately 50 customers are without water.
Before the interim solution is implemented, a boil water advisory will be issued for customers east of the bridge.
The city is in the process of distributing notices to all customers east of the bridge.
Until further notice, all City of Enderby water customers east of the bridge should bring water to a rolling boil for three minutes and then cool before consuming it.
Note that customers west of the bridge, including customers within the City of Enderby and the Gunter-Ellison Service Extension, are not affected by this boil water advisory.
First responders, Emergency Management BC (and through them, the Ministry of Environment), Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, and Interior Health have all been notified.

originally posted on January 15, 2017

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has rescinded the boil water advisory for the City of Assaria public water supply in Saline County. The advisory was issued because of a loss of pressure in the distribution system. Failure to maintain adequate pressure may result in a loss of chlorine residuals and bacterial contamination.

Public water suppliers in Kansas take all measures necessary to notify customers quickly after a system failure or shutdown. Regardless of whether it’s the supplier or KDHE that announces a boil water advisory, KDHE will issue the rescind order following testing at a certified laboratory. Laboratory testing samples collected from the City of Assaria indicate no evidence of contamination and all other conditions that placed the system at risk of contamination are deemed by KDHE officials to be resolved.

by Nikki Henderson, originally posted on January 13, 2017

PRINCETON, La. – UPDATE:

You no longer have to boil your water if you live in the Princeton area.

Officials with the Village Water System announced Wednesday that the boil advisory has been lifted for customers in the area extending from 1842 to 3036 Hwy 528.
ORIGINAL STORY:

A water boil advisory has been issued for another community in Bossier Parish.

Officials with the Village Water System announced Friday that residents in the Princeton area have been placed under a boil advisory after the water was turned off due to an emergency repair.

The advisory includes the area extending from: 1842 to 3036 Hwy 528.

You should boil your water for at least one minute before eating, drinking, making ice or brushing your teeth.

The advisory will remain in effect until further notice.

Issues with Barnes Aquifer could also be a concern for nearby communities, such as Holyoke

by David McKay, originally posted on January 11, 2017

WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Water contamination continues to be a discussion for Westfield residents, and now those of surrounding communities as well.

Concern started to be voiced in October for high chemical levels in the Barnes Aquifer, and some are worried about neighboring communities, such as Holyoke.

MassDEP says that these chemicals are suspected to have come from firefighting foam that the National Guard used from the 1950’s through the 80’s, and had been on the Barnes Regional Airport grounds as recently as last year. MassDEP says that they asked Barnes Air National Guard Base to test their private wells, but were left waiting on a response.

In the meantime, Westfield also shut down two wells, and has been conducting testing regularly. The Department of Public Works says that the water is safe to drink.

“On the Westfield side of things, we are looking to build a treatment plant up by the airport for Wells 7 and 8, and also looking at a possible treatment plant for Wells 1 and 2,” Assistant Director of Public Works Francis Cain said.

MassDEP officials have urged the city to look at legal means to recoup money that they have spent on dealing with the issue. In addition to Barnes, there are several sites across the nation with contamination issues related to the firefighting foam.

MassDEP says that it expects the National Guard to have results from their investigation in the next two weeks.