A water main break near U.S. 27 North and County Road 621 Friday resulted in a precautionary boil-water notice for several Lake Placid neighborhoods that remained in effect until Tuesday while the Town waited for required water-quality testing to be completed. The notice affected Watersedge, Kingswood Manor, Crocket Village, Paradise Mobile Home Park, Lake Garden Mobile Home Park, the Elkam Road area and the Tower Street area and surrounding properties north to Alderman.
The Town announced Tuesday that the notice had been rescinded following repairs to the water main and completion of the required testing.
Water mains are the larger underground pipes that carry treated drinking water through the community and feed the smaller lines serving homes and businesses. While the broken pipe may be repaired relatively quickly, restoring water service is just part of the process. The water inside those pipes is maintained under pressure. The pressure does more than move water through the system – it helps protect the drinking-water supply from contamination outside the pipes. When a main breaks and pressure drops, that protection can be compromised. Groundwater, soil or other material surrounding the pipe can potentially enter the water system. A precautionary boil-water notice does not mean contamination has been found. It means an event has occurred that creates the possibility of contamination and the safety of the water must be confirmed, which is why a boil-water notice can remain in effect after residents see water service restored and the repair crew leave.
Florida drinking-water requirements call for bacteriological testing following certain water-main breaks and other events that can compromise a distribution system. Water samples are tested for bacteria used to determine whether the integrity of the drinking-water system has been restored. Total coliform bacteria are commonly used as an indicator of potential problems within a drinking-water distribution system, while the presence of E. coli can indicate fecal contamination.
For the Lake Placid break, the Town announced that water samples would be collected Sunday, with results expected Tuesday. Until satisfactory testing was completed, residents in the affected areas were instructed to boil water used for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth and making ice. Florida Department of Environmental Protection guidance requires bacteriological sampling following qualifying water-main breaks. Samples are taken from representative locations within the affected portion of the distribution system. Florida’s procedures require satisfactory bacteriological results before a precautionary boil-water notice can be rescinded.
The Town announced Tuesday that those requirements had been completed and water service in the affected area was again considered safe for normal use. A precautionary boil-water notice following a main break isn’t an announcement that the water has been found contaminated. It is a safeguard used while the system is repaired and tested to make sure contamination did not enter the drinking-water supply during the disruption. This is why seeing clear water, or knowing that the broken main has already been repaired, isn’t enough to determine that the notice can be ignored. The laboratory testing is what closes the process.
The Town has a notification system in place to robocall customers affected by a precautionary boil-water notice. Town officials say they are currently working to improve that system so notices can be delivered more effectively to residents in the affected service area.
