FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Mike McGill
(910) 332-6704
After Hours: (910) 622-8472
Mike.McGill@cfpua.org
communications@cfpua.org
WILMINGTON, NC, April 23, 2014: The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) HAS LIFTED the precautionary boil water advisory (PBWA) for residences and businesses issued yesterday for a portion of downtown Wilmington. The addresses affected are listed above and shown on the attached map.
The planned work replaced three valves, requiring a water service outage between from 9 a.m. to approximately 4 p.m. Tuesday. The intersection of North 5th and Red Cross Streets was closed during the work and a detour was established in the area.
The precautionary boil water advisory was issued with the outage because periods of low or no pressure increase the potential for the introduction of bacteria into the water system. CFPUA customers in the above described area were asked to boil their water for one minute then allow it to cool prior to consumption or utilize another water source such as bottled water. Consumption included drinking, brushing teeth, making ice, food preparation, fruit and vegetable washing and the preparation of baby formula. Customers did NOT need to boil water prior to using it for showering or bathing.
CFPUA staff is asking the media for assistance in getting out the word because of the number of addresses affected. Customers can also call into CFPUA’s new Precautionary Boil Water Advisory Information Line at (910) 332-6500 for details.
The Precautionary Boil Water Advisory was in effect until water quality testing has occurred and service was returned to normal. The lifting of the advisory will occur in one or more of the following ways: hand-delivered announcement, a post on www.cfpua.org, a recorded phone message at 332-6500, a phone notification from New Hanover County’s emergency alert system and/or a press release to area media outlets.
A precautionary boil water advisory is a public health announcement. When issued, the public should assume there is an elevated risk of their water being unsafe to drink. Advisories can be issued after: incidents that compromise the distribution system (ex. water main break); failure of/substantial interruption in water treatment processes that result in increased turbidity levels or particle counts; mechanical or equipment failure; violations of the total coliform rule or the turbidity standard of the surface water treatment rule; or a natural disaster. www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking.
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Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) was formed by the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County to combine their water and sewer operations. It began operations on July 1, 2008. Today, the Authority serves more than 67,000 water customer accounts and more than 65,000 wastewater customer accounts. It oversees more than 1,000 miles of water distribution mains and nearly 1,000 miles of sewer mains. For more information, visit www.cfpua.org or contact CFPUA’s Communications staff at communications@cfpua.org.