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.

by Brett Berntsen, originally posted on July 23, 2016

 

FARMINGTON —Crouch Mesa community members are urging water conservation as work continues to end a lengthy boil advisory affecting nearly 7,000 residents.

The AV Water company, which owns and operates the rural water systems serving the area, has completed construction on a pump station to provide customers with treated water from the city of Farmington. General Manager Fred Whistle said the company will need to completely flush the existing water from its pipes before the boil advisory can be lifted, however. He said the process will begin at some point next week.

Kalee Chivers Grothe, an organizer of a protest group formed in response to the dilemma, said residents will need to cut back on showers and laundry to ensure there’s enough supply to complete the flush.

“We need to be conserving water like crazy,” she said. “That’s the only way we can end this.”

AV Water’s Morningstar and Harvest Gold supply systems have been under a boil advisory since May 25 due to consistent failures at the company’s treatment plant. In response, the company has abandoned the facility and entered a long-term contract to buy bulk water from Farmington.

The final stages of the connection were completed on Friday, but the project is still awaiting approval from the New Mexico Environment Department. NMED spokeswoman Allison Scott Majure said in an email that inspections and sampling must occur before the boil advisory can be lifted.

“We are continuing our oversight to ensure the water is safe to drink,” Majure said.

The NMED originally imposed a July 15 deadline for AV Water to complete the pump station. The company said in a written update issued on Friday that its lawyers will file for a formal extension.

Chivers Grothe said the state needs to stick to its deadlines and hold AV Water accountable. She said the protest group will explore taking legal action against the company, but restoring services remains the priority.

“Our No. 1 goal is to get clean drinking water,” she said. “But this battle is not even close to being over.”

Brett Berntsen covers government for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4606. 

originally posted on July 21, 2016

 

A boil advisory has been issued in Riverside for residences on Lynnhaven Drive, between Meyer Avenue and Burkhardt Road, because of water main repair or replacement, Brianna Wooten, communications coordinator, Montgomery County Water Services, confirmed this evening.

Residents should boil water at least three minutes before using it.

The advisory remains in effect until further notice.

originally posted on July 23, 2016

 

West Virginia American Water has issued a precautionary boil water advisory for the areas in the city of Racine following a water main break that caused a disruption in water service today.

The affected area begins at Bridge Street in Bloomingrose and includes areas south in Bloomingrose, Comfort, Seth, Fosterville, Coopertown, Orgas and Keith. According to WV American Water, a water main break has drained several water storage tanks in the area.

Crews are continuing work to repair the break and restore service as quickly as possible. Once water service is restored, customers in the affected areas are asked to bring their water used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, bathing, and food preparation to a full boil for a minimum of one minute, then cool before use.

Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms that may be present in the water. Once the system recovers, WV American Water will be collecting water quality samples in the outage area.

Customers will receive another message from West Virginia American Water letting them know when the advisory is lifted.

For more information, contact the WVAW customer service center at 1-800-685-8660.

By the Salina Journal, originally posted on July 22, 2016

 

TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has issued a boil water advisory for the city of Kanopolis public water supply in Ellsworth County. The advisory was issued because of a positive bacteriological sample and inadequate chlorine residuals in the distribution system.

The advisory will remain in effect until the conditions the place the system at risk of contamination are adequately resolved as determined by KDHE officials.

Kanopolis water customers should observe the following precautions:

• Boil water for one minute before drinking or food preparation, or use bottled water.

• Dispose of ice cubes and don’t use ice from automatic ice makers.

• Disinfect dishes by immersing them for at least a minute in clean tap water that has a teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water.

• Water used for bathing generally doesn’t need to be boiled, but children should be supervised so they don’t ingest the water. People with cuts or severe rashes may wish to consult a physician.

• If tap water appears dirty, flush the line by letting the water run until it clears.

by Katie Alexander, originally posted on July 22, 2016

 

AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) – As testing continues to ensure the water is safe to drink after a massive water main break, bottled water is in high demand.

Customers at Tops Friendly Market on Maple Road Friday were buying bottled water by the case and jug, since many can’t use their tap water for drinking or cooking now. “Trying to make coffee, brushing your teeth is a real trick. You know I haven’t done this since I went to camp,” said one customer, Noreen Resman.

Resman says she wasn’t stocking up on water Friday, she was restocking, after only being able to get three bottles at a different store chain on Thursday.

That’s not a problem at Tops. All of the stores have a lot of water on hand, the local vendor has more trucks ready to deliver, and there is no limit on how much water customers can get. “As we learned about the water main break, we got our resources together, worked with our local vendor, Mayer Brothers, and all of our stores that are affected by the water main break are fully stocked with product,” said Andy Brocato, Director of public and community relations for Tops Friendly Markets.

In a happy coincidence, some of the water is even on sale at Tops this week. “Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good,” Brocato laughed.

But Tops isn’t leaving anything to luck with the boil water advisory situation. Coffee service has been discontinued in most stores, customers are being offered hand sanitizer in the restrooms and bottled water in place of the drinking fountain water, and all of the stores in the affected area have turned off the automatic misters in their produce departments.

Employees are manually misting the produce using bottled water. “Food safety is our number one priority,” Brocato said.

That’s certainly the case at local restaurants, too.

The owner of Duffs says his restaurant got a huge special delivery of bagged ice on Thursday since their on site ice and fountain drinks are off limits. “We’ve made runs to Walmart and BJs and get a lot of bottled waters and a lot of cans of soda,” Jeff Feathers said.

Of course, Feathers said, customers can always get a refreshing beer while they’re enjoying a meal there, since the kegs are not affected.

Meal prep hasn’t been a problem either. “Luckily, we had everything prepped, mostly our celery and everything was done before the water main break so we’re good throughout the weekend until we can get fresh water again,” Feathers said.

Everyone is hoping to get the water again soon. The Department of Health still needs to give the all clear.

Meantime, crews at the site of the water main break that prompted the boil water advisory are making progress in their repairs.

By 10 a.m. Friday, they had the pipe in the ground. The crews were still working to install a new valve, and told News 4 they’d likely still be out at the site for several more hours.

by Marian Hetherly and Michael Mroziak, originally posted on July 21, 2016

 

A “boil water” advisory is expected to remain in effect until at least Friday in numerous municipalities affected by Wednesday night’s water main break in the Town of Amherst. Meanwhile, concerns were raised about the Erie County Water Authority’s communication amidst the break.

Shortly before 9 p.m., the break occured near Sheridan Drive and Millersport Highway. Residents in Amherst, Williamsville, Clarence, Newstead, Town of Lancaster, Village of Lancaster and Depew experienced either a significant drop in water flow or a full loss.

An estimated 250,000 people were affected.

The cause of the break to what was identified as a 36-inch line remains under investigation. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, in a Thursday morning briefing, explained that while the Erie County Water Authority is an entity completely seperate from Erie County government, county officials provided some assistance as the situation unfolded.

“The emergency operations center was open for a limited basis last night, as we were gathering information and working with our friends from the water authority to figure out exactly what had happened,” said Poloncarz, who also explained that his personnel also worked with officials in Niagara and Wyoming Counties to ensure help was in place in the event of fires during the water outage.

In the meantime, those living in affected areas are advised to boil all water intended for internal consumption, including drinking, use while brushing teeth and in food preparation. The Erie County Health Department explained that when water mains lose pressure, it increases the chance that untreated water and harmful microbes can enter your water. Harmful microbes in drinking water can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches or other symptoms and may pose a special health risk for infants, some elderly and people with severely compromised immune systems.

“This ‘boil water’ notice is just precautionary,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein. “There is no evidence that the harmful bacteria are in our water system. Water samples are being collected throughout the Northtowns for testing to determine if the harmful bacteria had made their way into the water.”

Dr. Burstein said two negative test results must come back, 24 hours apart, before the boil order may be lifted.

Officials are also asking people to voluntarily limit the amount of water they use until service is fully restored to help quicken the process of returning the system to normal.

This poses a challenge to restaurants, which use dozens of gallons of water daily for various purposes including food preparation. Among those scrambling to stock up on bottled water and other alternative supplies Thursday morning was Ellie Grenauer, co-owner of the Glen Park Tavern in Williamsville and the immediate past president of the Western New York chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association.

Among the services that needed adjustment in light of the “boil water” notice, according to Grenauer, are soda pop and coffee, both of which typically use equipment involving water lines.

“There’s little things that people don’t think about, like washing lettuce, so we need quite a bit of water,” she said.

Grenauer acknowledged the possibility of local eateries getting more business during the “boil water” period, by some affected by the same notice who decide to skip the extra steps needed to cook at home and instead go out to eat.

“We’ve been out this morning purchasing iced tea and pop and just getting ready to hopefully have a successful day,” she said.

Sisters of Charity St. Joseph’s Hospital in Cheektowaga canceled all elective surgeries Thursday at the request of the Erie County Health Department. All other services within the hospital, including the Emergency Department, were operating as usual. Sisters of Charity Hospital’s Main Street Campus is not affected.

Attempts to phone the Erie County Water Authority or access its website were unsuccessful by many Wednesday night. Poloncarz suggested ECWA could have done a better job communicating the problem.

In a series of Twitter messages, ECWA acknowledged a need to improve communication with the public. When the Twitter segments are combined, the message reads: “A “Boil Water Notice” is required after a rare occurrence like last night’s water main break in Amherst. In fact, the Erie County Water Authority has not needed to issue a Boil Water Notice in ten years. The requirement for a Boil Water Notice comes from an abundance of caution. While it is unlikely a health issue may occur, we owe it to our rate payers to keep them informed of even the most remote possibility.

“In the future, we are exploring providing automated notifications via email and robocalls for these once-in-a-decade occurrences.We are testing the water twice in succession, as required, and expect to have those results as soon as possible. The Boil Water Notice may be lifted at that time as determined by the Health Department.”

originally posted on July 22, 2016

 

The entire town of Port Barre, including Water District #3, is under a boil advisory until further notice.

A spokeswoman for the town said a contractor broke an eight-inch main line.

The boil advisory is in effect until further notice.

By Brittni Smallwood, originally posted on July 21, 2016

 

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) – A boil water advisory is in place in Amherst, Williamsville, Clarence, Lancaster, Newstead and Depew. As a result, restaurant and homeowners in the affected areas have to make sure they follow the boil water advisory.

It’s something Bob Sweeney, the chef and owner of Break’n Eggs Creperie takes very seriously.

Sweeney said he started noticing something wasn’t right with the water at home Wednesday night.

When he opened the restaurant Thursday morning, he noticed the conditions weren’t any better. Sweeney saw gray water coming from the faucets. “This morning when we first started poaching eggs, we boiled the water. A film came to the top of the water. We had to skim it off. So we noticed it right away. And once that initial boil happened, the water was fine after that,”

As a result, Sweeney went to a nearby grocery store and purchases gallons of water. He also followed the Health Department’s guidelines and boiled water at the restaurant before using it to cook.

Sweeney said ensuring his customers are safe is very important to him.

Many we spoke to were happy the owner went to such lengths to keep them safe. “I’m so happy that they are boiling the water before serving and using it.“ Abigail Cappuccilli of Niagara Falls said.

Another patron, Allina Lamorticella said, “I’m so grateful, because so many of the people weren’t really aware of what was going on. We’re grateful this restaurant went out of their way and took the extra precautions.”

Sweeney said he’ll continue to boil water and buy gallons of it until the boil water advisory is lifted.

By TWC News Web Staff, originally posted on July 21, 2016

 

CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. — Nearly a quarter of a million residents in Erie County were effected by water loss or low water pressure following a major water main break in Amherst Wednedsay night.

A boil water advisory remains in effect in northern Erie County. It covers the towns of Amherst, Clarence, Lancaster, and Newstead as well as the villages of Williamsville, Lancaster and Depew.

County Executive Mark Poloncarz says the county water authority sent crews to repair the broken line in an area near Millersport Highway and Sheridan Drive.

“They shut the valves off so that they could stop the water flow through that pipe, move water around, the system does allow for moving water around if there are broken pipes, and that’s how water pressure was then restored to the homes,” said Poloncarz.

Poloncarz says the water authority is still working to repair the pipe. The water boil notice will be in effect for two to three days.

The Erie County Water Authority says this is the first time a “boil water notice” has been issued in the last decade and they’re looking into creating automated notifications through email or robocalls if this occurs again.

To help get the cleanest, safest water, the New York State Department of Health has a user-friendly  “boil water notice” checklist. The health department says it’s safe to wash your clothes in the water, but not the dishes. For more information about what precautions you should take click here.

Catholic Health’s Sisters of Charity Hospital Saint Joseph Campus in Cheektowaga has canceled elective surgeries for Thursday. Bottled water, ice, hand sanitizer and other personal hygiene products are being given out to patients, visitors and staff there.

Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital activated its emergency response plan, but there’s been no impact on patient care or water supply. The hospital is operating under a boil water notice.

Erie County Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein says the boil water notice is just a precaution, and there is no evidence of harmful water in the system. If you think you may have ingested potentially contaminated water, Burstein says you should wait to see if you develop symptoms of an e-coli infection.

“That would present as loss of appetite, abdominal pain, gas, diarrhea or vomiting. But if people do have any questions or concerns they can call their primary care provider to get some questions answered,” said Burstein.

Any water used for drinking or washing should be boiled for one minute before it’s used.

Sen. Chuck Schumer calls the water main break unacceptable. He blames it on the aging water and sewer pipes and is calling on the federal government to help pay for upgraded systems.

“Any help the federal government can provide in mitigating the cost will help get the systems replaced, rehabilitated more quickly so there are fewer breaks like the one in Amherst and it would save local taxpayers a whole lot of money,” he said.

Schumer says an upgraded water system will help bring in more businesses and grow the local economy.

The water boil notice will likely be in effect for 2 to 3 days.

The Water Authority says this is the first time such a notice has been issued in the last decade and it’s looking to create automated notifications through email or robocalls if this happens again.