Due to a drop in pressure in the City of Rochester (GLWA Users only – East Side System) water supply, bacterial contamination may have occurred in the water system. Bacteria are generally not harmful and are common throughout our environment.
What should I do?
DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST. Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one minute, 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 preparing food. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water. Continue using boiled or bottled water until further notice.
What happened? What is being done?
These precautionary actions are being taken due to the loss of water pressure in the water distribution system, which occurred around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 29, 2018 as a result of meter maintenance being undertaken by GLWA when the operators inadvertently failed to open the bypass line prior to isolating the meter. Pressure was restored within 15-20 minutes. Whenever a water system loses pressure for any significant length of time, precautionary measures are recommended.
GLWA restored pressure within 15-20 minutes of the occurrence, and water staff will be taking other remedial actions such as flushing and collecting bacteriological samples from around the system. The samples will be collected to determine that the water quality meets the state drinking water standards. We will inform you when tests show no bacteria and you no longer need to boil your water. We anticipate resolving the problem within 24-48 hours.
This boil water notice shall remain in effect until results from the sampling verify the water is safe to drink. Customers will be advised when the boil water advisory has been lifted.
For more information, please contact Shannon Filarecki (sfilarecki@rochestermi.org or 248-881-3434) or Cory Bendick (cbendick@rochestermi.org or 248-379-8804), at the City of Rochester, 1141 N. Wilcox, Rochester, MI 48307. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791.
Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.
About Rochester Media