Topisaw Creek under boil-water notice; manager says it was not a line break

Published 1:57 pm Friday, January 19, 2018

Topisaw Creek has issued a precautionary boil-water alert for customers who receive their drinking water from their water supply located in Lincoln County, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health.

This affects approximately 200 customers in the Wellman and Enterprise communities who are served by the Topisaw Water Association.

A miscommunication between Water system officials and the Mississippi State Department of Health resulted in the initial alert issued earlier today that said the pressure loss was due to one or more line breaks caused by the inclement weather, however, Topisaw Creek manager Tonya Foret said there wasn’t a line break in the system. It was a communication problem within the system which caused the well not to pump.

Foret said they will take samples Monday and send to the MSDH for testing.

“As soon as they come back in, it will be clear,” she said.

She expects the boil-water notice to be lifted Tuesday.

The MSDH has changed the wording on the alert online to reflect that it was not a line break.

Checklist for Safe Water Use

DO NOT

Do not drink tap water while the water system is under a boil water advisory.
Do not drink from water fountains in parks, public or private buildings that receive water from the affected system.
Do not use ice unless it has been made with boiled water. Freezing will not necessarily kill harmful bacteria.
Do not use tap water to make drinks, juices, or fountain soft drinks.

Wash your dishes in boiled water, or use paper plates for the next few days.
Wash your fruits and vegetables with boiled or bottled water since they may have been exposed to affected water from grocery store sprayers.
Wash your hands and bathe as usual. Bathing is safe as long as no water is swallowed.
Brush your teeth with boiled or bottled water.
Cook with tap water if the food will be boiled for at least one minute.

AND REMEMBER:

Properly chlorinated water in swimming pools is safe.
Fish in aquariums are not affected.

Bringing water to a rolling boil for one minute will inactivate all major types of harmful bacteria.

When your boil-water notice is lifted:

Flush faucets for a total of 10 minutes to introduce system water throughout house plumbing.
Example:
- 1 faucet — run for 10 minutes
- 2 faucets — run both for 5 minutes
- 3 faucets — run each for 3-4 minutes
Flush any faucet a minimum of 2 minutes to ensure clearing of the line serving the faucet.
Discard any drinks, ice, food, etc, made during the boil water notice.
Rewash any food or drink contact items (knives, forks, plates, etc.) with “cleared” system water.
Check water filters (in faucets, refrigerators and elsewhere) and replace if necessary.
Do not use water from your hot water heater for drinking until several exchanges of the tank have occurred.
Run dishwasher through a cycle or two before washing dishes.