FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Mike McGill
(910) 332-6704
After Hours: (910) 622-8472
Mike.McGill@cfpua.org
communications@cfpua.org
WILMINGTON, NC, January 28, 2014: Due to a water main break near the intersection of S. 12th Street and Crocus Court, the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) is issuing, effective immediately, a precautionary boil water advisory (PBWA) for customers in portions of the Greenfield Lake area of Wilmington. A 12-inch water main, approximately 60 years of old, broke earlier this evening and CFPUA crews are conducting the repair, requiring water service to be affected to the addresses listed above.
This boil water advisory is being issued as a precaution 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 should boil their water for one minute then allow it to cool prior to consumption or utilize another water source such as bottled water. Consumption includes drinking, brushing teeth, making ice, food preparation, fruit and vegetable washing and the preparation of baby formula. Customers do NOT need to boil water prior to using it for showering or bathing.
Because of the size of the area affected, CFPUA is utilizing the New Hanover County Emergency Notification System. This notice is being posted on the Web and customers can also call into CFPUA’s new Precautionary Boil Water Advisory Information Line at (910) 332-6500 for details. We also ask the media for their assistance in getting the word out about this advisory.
The Boil Water Advisory shall be in effect until water quality testing has occurred and service has returned to normal, typically within 24 hours. 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.