DRINKING WATER WARNING
BOIL YOUR WATER FOR THREE MINUTES BEFORE USING
The St. Simons Island water system lost pressure to residences within The Island Club at Retreat on Thursday, November 1, 2018 due to emergency repairs to a hydrant in the area. After service has been restored, BGJWSC lab personnel will collect water samples for testing. This testing, which will take between 22 and 24 hours, should be completed the afternoon of Friday, November 2, at which time an all-clear message will be posted.
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 potential that bacterial 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.
This precautionary boil water advisory is being published as a warning to those that live in, work in, or travel through the affected area. During the period of the loss of pressure, water will also not be available for fire suppression use. The map below indicates the limit to which this precautionary boil water advisory applies:
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 is being done?
As soon as pressure can be restored to the distribution system, our water lab personnel will take water samples that will be fully evaluated over the next twenty-four to forty-eight 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.
Date distributed: 11/1/18 2:35 PM
What is a Boil Water Advisory? READ MORE HERE
