Boil Water Notice for Seldovia
by City of Seldovia
Public Notice for the City of Seldovia
Public Water System ID: AK 2240707
BOIL WATER NOTICE
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Drinking Water Program, in conjunction with the City of Seldovia, is issuing this precautionary boil water notice (BWN) for the users of Seldovia’s community water system until further notice. This boil water notice is being issued because Seldovia’s source water has had very high levels of turbidity (above 5.0 NTU on 9/22/2012), and our treated water has had very low chlorine residual levels (as low as 0.05 mg/L on September 25, 2012).
High turbidity levels in our source water can interfere with adequate chlorine disinfection for our treated water. Chlorine disinfection is needed to kill harmful micro-organisms that occur naturally in our source water. We are not aware of any harmful bacteria in the treated water at this time; however, because the water in the distribution system has not been adequately disinfected, we are issuing this boil water notice as a precautionary measure until the water quality improves and the water can be further tested.
What should I do?
DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST. Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for two 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.
- It is important to kill micro-organism in water before using it for these purposes because some of these organisms can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms. These organisms may also pose a special health risk for infants, young children, 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. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from EPAs Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
What is being done?
The Seldovia water system operator is working to restore normal operation of the water treatment plant. The turbidity levels are slowly coming down and the chlorine residual is gradually being raised. Once treatment has been adequately restored, we will flush the main water lines and take at least four total coliform bacteria samples from the distribution system to verify that the water is safe to drink. When DEC rescinds the boil water notice, you will be notified. For more information, please contact the City office at (907) 234-7643 or DEC at (907) 262-3403.
This notice is being issued by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, in conjunction with the City of Seldovia. Date public notice distributed: 9/26/2012
Seldovia Time
