Water Status Update – 2017-Sep-10 -0 10:15 am

Florida Keys – Spetember 10, 2017 – Water Status Update

The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority’s water treatment plant continues to remain operational and the transmission main appears to be intact. There appear to be widespread water outages in the smaller distribution systems which are creating extremely low pressure conditions in addition to water outages in some areas. The exact areas have not been determined at this time.

PBWN

In an abundance of caution we are issuing a precautionary boil water notice (PBWN) throughout the Keys. This notice may be modified once the storm passes and it is safe for crews to assess the system.   This is just a precautionary notice.

A PBWN is simply a public statement advising customers to boil tap water before consuming it. PBWN’s are issued when an event, such as a water main break, has occurred and certain repair criteria could not be met, allowing for the possibility of the water to become contaminated.

Take these voluntary steps to ensure that the water used in your home (or food service establishment) is safe:

Bring the water to a rolling boil and holding it there for one (1) minute.

Use a disinfecting chemical. If you cannot boil water, you should put 8 drops of common household bleach (about 1/8th teaspoon) into 1 gallon of tap wa-ter, then shake it and allow it to stand for 30 minutes before drinking. If the water is cloudy, use 16 drops (about 1/4 teaspoon) of bleach instead of 8, shake it, and let it stand for 30 minutes. There should be a slight chlorine odor. Use common household bleach that has 5% to 6% active ingredients. Use food grade containers. Don’t use bleach that has perfume scents added.

Use water purification tablets or iodine that many sports and camping stores sell.

Tap water may be used for showering, baths, shaving, and washing, so long as care is taken not to swallow or allow water in eyes or nose or mouth. Children and disabled individuals should have their bath supervised to ensure water is not in-gested. The time spent bathing should be minimized. Though the risk of illness is minimal, individuals who have recent surgical wounds, are immunosuppressed, or have a chronic illness may want to consider using bottled or boiled water for cleansing until the notice is lifted.

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