Boil Water Advisory for Portions of St. Simons Island – February 19, 2017

DRINKING WATER WARNING

BOIL YOUR WATER FOR THREE MINUTES BEFORE USING

Update as of 9:00 PM 2/19/17: Service has now been restored but the water quality testing will continue for 24 hours from this time. To clarify, service was affected from Kings Way to Bartow St (west to east) and Anguilla Ave to Park Ave (north to south).

The St. Simons Island water system lost pressure in the east area of Kings Way, from Ashantilly and Park Ave, due to distribution system damages. This loss of pressure in the distribution system may cause back-pressure, back-siphonage, or a net movement of water from outside the pipe to the inside through cracks, breaks, or joints in the distribution system that are common in all water systems.  Such a system failure carries with it a high potential that fecal contamination or other disease-causing organisms could enter the water distribution system.  These conditions may pose an imminent and substantial health endangerment to persons served by the water system.

What should I do?

• DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST. Bring all water to a rolling boil for at least (3) three minutes, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water. ALL STORED WATER, DRINK OR ICE MADE RECENTLY FROM THIS SUPPLY SHALL BE DISCARDED.
• Bathing, showering and toilet flushing may be performed using water from the tap without boiling it first.
• Inadequately treated water may contain disease-causing organisms. These organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites which can cause symptoms such as diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms. They may pose a special health risk for infants, young children, some of the elderly and people with severely compromised immune systems.
• The symptoms above are not caused only by organisms in drinking water. If you experience any of these symptoms and they persist, you may want to seek medical advice. People at increased risk should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers.

What happened? What is being done?

At this time, our water lab personnel have taken water samples that will be fully evaluated over the twenty four hour period following the repair of the main. Once we have determined that there is no longer a threat of harmful bacteria in the water, we will inform you that you are no longer required to boil your water by posting an update here on our website: http://www.bgjwsc.org.

This notice is being sent to you by the Water Production Division of the BGJWSC.

Water System ID#: 1270001

Date distributed: 2/19/17 7:12 PM

Update as of 9:15 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2017: The map below may be helpful in determining whether your service was affected. Only the highlighted area was in the boil water advisory. The parcel selection is not precise but meant to give a general idea of the isolation of this water system.