by Justine Ove, originally posted on July 25, 2016

DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management announced that a loss in water pressure in the county has been experienced due to repair attempts on a 48-inch main transmission line that has resulted in three pressure reductions to the system in less than 36 hours which might pose a potential of water quality issues throughout the county.

Therefore in an abundance of caution for our citizens and to protect the public from any potential health hazards, citizens in the affected area are advised to boil all water prior to use for drinking, cooking or preparing baby food. The water should be boiled for at least one minute after reaching a rolling boil. Residents served by the DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management should continue to boil water until notified by DeKalb County that the water system has been restored to full operation and the microbiological quality of the water is safe for human use.

Technicians will then send samples of the water in the area for testing. After the test results are available, DeKalb County in conjunction with the EPD, will provide an update to the boil water status.

Preliminary testing conducted Friday, July 24, 2015 showed residual chlorine disinfectant present in the system and no bacteriological contamination. Additional Samples have been collected today and will be collected during this event to further verify water quality.

This “precautionary boil water advisory” will remain in effect until the problem has been corrected and a bacteriological survey shows that the water is safe to drink.