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City of Mary Esther issues boil water notice after vehicle accident damages water line

City crews work overnight to repair broken main as residents advised to boil water for drinking, cooking and other consumption purposes.
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The City of Mary Esther issued a precautionary boil water notice for all water customers Tuesday following an emergency water line repair caused by a vehicle accident.

  • City officials are advising all customers to bring their water to a rolling boil for one minute before using it for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth or washing dishes. Residents may also use bottled water as an alternative.

The notice was issued because water pressure dropped significantly due to the main break, creating potential for contaminants to enter the water distribution system. Boiling water effectively kills bacteria and other organisms that may be present.

  • City crews are on site actively working to repair the broken water line, with completion anticipated overnight. Once repairs are finished, crews will flush the system and conduct bacteriological surveys to ensure water safety.

What the city advises:

Boil Water: Bring all water used for drinking, cooking, ice making, brushing teeth, or washing dishes to a rolling boil for one minute.

Alternative: Use bottled water for these purposes.

Hand Washing: If boiling water for hand washing is not practical, consider using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer after washing with soap and tap water.

Pets: Provide boiled or bottled water for your pets.

Showers/Bathing: The risk of harm from showering or bathing is minimal, but be careful not to swallow any water.

Laundry: Water used for laundry does not need to be boiled.

Dishwashers: If your dishwasher has a hot sanitize cycle, it can be used. Otherwise, wash dishes by hand using boiled water.

The boil water notice will remain in effect until repairs are completed and two consecutive sets of satisfactory bacteriological samples are collected, typically 24-48 hours after the repair.

The city will issue an “ALL CLEAR” notification once water is deemed safe to drink without boiling.

7 Responses

  1. I love the alert on the ME water website, “boil water” when there is none, nothing about no water. typical govt stonewalling and lack of info.

  2. Why wasn’t/hasn’t the alert system that was used when the road was coated in Mary Esther Manor employed?
    Additionally, I called the water department between 10 and 11 pm last night. I got no answer except to call Josh. I did call and left a message. No response. Why have an emergency number if one gets no response?
    Gary

  3. I had no water from 10::00 pm Tuesday night until I checked today at 3:00 pm. I am extremely frustrated with the lack of professionalism in the way that citizens are notified about potential problems. There is no system! I called the water department and no emergency phone number! Thankfully, I thought to use Facebook to try to get information. About two hours after I had no water, there was finally a notice informing citizens about what happened. The lack of professionalism that was on display last evening is unacceptable! What if it were something really serious? Well, if you are unfortunate enough to be a resident of this podunk town, I guess you are screwed!

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