Grenada Water & Sewer Department officials announced several Boil Water Alerts Wednesday afternoon as the effects of Winter Storm Fern continue to play havoc on the city's water system.
Due to impacts from the storm, which blanketed the county in ice, thousands of residents lost water service. Many of those customers still don't have service as of Wednesday evening. However, service is slowly being restored following extended outages and as a result, the communities of Holcomb, Gore Springs and Elliott as well as the residents of Girl Scout Road and Airport Circle have been placed under Boil Water Alerts.
"We know this is an added stress during a difficult time and we truly appreciate your patience and cooperation," Grenada City Manager Dr. Trina George said. "Our crews are working around the clock to stabilize the system and restore full service safely. We will share updates and notify you as soon as the boil water alert is lifted."
According to the Mississippi State Department of Health, the following precautions need to be taken if a Water Safety Notice is in effect for your water system:
• Do not drink tap water.
• Do not use ice made from recent tap water.
• Do not use tap water to make drinks, juices, or fountain soft drinks.
• Cook with tap water ONLY if food is boiled for at least one minute.
• Wash dishes, fruits and vegetables in boiled water or water that has been disinfected with bleach. Using your home dishwasher is not recommended.
• Brush your teeth with boiled or bottled water.
• Wash your hands and bathe as usual. Bathing is safe as long as no water is swallowed.
• Wash laundry as usual. Laundry washed in hot or cold water is safe.
Disinfecting Water (Source: MSDH)
• Bring water to a rolling boil for 1 minute to kill most organisms.
• If you cannot boil your water, mix eight drops (1/8 teaspoon) of unscented, ordinary household chlorine bleach (5.25 percent sodium hypochlorite) per gallon of water. Mix the solution thoroughly, and let stand for about 30 minutes. (This treatment will kill bacteria, but not parasitic organisms.) If water is muddy or cloudy, remove sediment by straining it through a cloth or filter paper before disinfecting.
• Alternatively, water may be treated with chlorine or iodine tablets.
When the alerts are lifted, MSDH officials advise that the following procedures be followed:
• 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 water line.
• 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.
The Boil Water Alerts will be in place until further notice.
