NEW ORLEANS – The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (S&WB) issued a precautionary boil water advisory this morning for the East Bank of New Orleans, including New Orleans East and the Lower Ninth Ward.
Residents in the affected area were advised per State Department of Health and Hospitals not to use tap water to drink, make ice or brush teeth until further notice. Residents in the affected area that are immune-compromised were advised not to wash hands, or shower or bath. All other residents were advised to take precautions for the below hygiene actions:
• Washing hands: Use soap and tap water, dry hands then apply hand sanitizer; the safest option is to wash with safe water.
• Shower or bath: Being careful not to swallow any water, one may take a shower safely. Using caution when bathing infants and young children so that no water is swallowed is considered fairly safe. A sponge bath reduces the chance of swallowing water. The time spent bathing should be minimized. Children and disabled individuals should have their bath supervised to ensure water is not ingested. Though the risk of illness is minimal, individuals who have recent surgical wounds, are immunosuppressed, or have a chronic illness may want to consider using bottled or boiled water for cleansing until the advisory is lifted. For those who want to be absolutely safe, use safe water until further notice per the Louisiana Office of Public Health – Infectious Disease Epidemiology Section.
This morning, there was a power fluctuation at the Sewerage & Water Board Carrollton Plant, which caused a momentary drop in water pressure, reps said. Water pressure has been restored, however it was confirmed that the pressure dropped below the threshold of 15psi.
S&WB and the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) officials began testing water samples this morning.
Customers in other areas of the city were not affected and did not need to boil their water.
S&WB reps said residents would be notified when the advisory was lifted.
Boil water advisories are issued out of an abundance of caution whenever the water pressure drops below 15psi, S&WB reps said. The concern is that a pressure drop inside of the water pipe could allow an opportunity for contaminants into the pipe. Chlorine is a chemical that is added to water to combat contamination. The Sewerage and Water Board staff maintains a high chlorine residual, reps said, the they aggressively and continually monitor our chlorine residual to ensure that our potable water has the ability to fight off bacteriological growth.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR BOILING WATER
Boil water for one full minute in a clean container. The one-minute boil time begins after the water has been brought to a rolling boil. (If there is a flat taste, it can be eliminated by shaking the water in a bottle or pouring it from one container to another.)
