Erie County residents advised to boil water

The following is information from Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz and the Erie County Department of Health:

Boil Your Water Before Using

Bring tap water to a rolling boil, boil for one minute, and cool before using. Or use bottled water certified for sale by the New York State Department of Health. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth and preparing food until further notice.

This boil water notice applies to the towns of Amherst, Clarence, Lancaster and Newstead, as well as the villages of Williamsville, Lancaster and Depew.

•What happened? At about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, the water system experienced reduced pressure due to a break in a water main. When a water main loses pressure, it increases the chance that untreated water and harmful microbes can enter your water. Harmful microbes in drinking water can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches or other symptoms, and may pose a special health risk for infants, some elderly, and people with severely compromised immune systems.

But these symptoms are not just caused by microbes in drinking water. If you experience any of these symptoms and they persist, you should seek medical advice.

•What is being done? The water main break has been isolated so that no additional leakage can occur, and water pressures have returned to normal. The Erie County Water Authority is currently testing water quality throughout the affected area. This will take several days and test results will be submitted to Erie County Department of Health. This process will determine when the boil water advisory can be lifted.

It is likely that you will need to boil water for the next two to three days until the safety of the water quality is confirmed. You will be informed when tests show that you no longer need to boil your water.

•For more information, call the customer service department of the Erie County Water Authority at 716-849-8444, or the Erie County Department of Health at 716-961-6800.

A New York State Department of Health checklist for residents and homeowners under a boil water notice is available for download (PDF) here: http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/water/drinking/boilwater/docs/che...