Update on Precautionary Boil Water Advisory for Uptown New Orleans - Water Quality Testing has Begun
For Immediate Release: Sunday, October 13, 2019 7:46 AM
NEW ORLEANS- The precautionary boil water advisory for the Uptown area of New Orleans is still in effect. Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO), in consultation with the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), is testing water quality samples, which may take up to 24 hours to achieve results.
SWBNO will notify residents and businesses when the boil water advisory is canceled. Customers in other areas of the city are not affected and do not need to boil their water.
A 48-inch diameter water main broke near the corner of Lowerline and Panola streets, causing water pressure to fall below 20 psi in the areas bounded by Carrollton Avenue, Interstate 10, the Pontchartrain Expressway, Calliope Street and the Mississippi River.
View a map of the area here.
Water pressure has stabilized, allowing the water quality testing to commence.
SWBNO, in partnership with the Louisiana Department of Health, issues boil water advisories out of an abundance of caution for areas where water pressure drops below 20 pounds per square inch (psi). The concern is that a pressure drop inside a water pipe could allow bacteriological contaminants to enter.
Healthy adults should take the following precautions:
Washing hands: Use soap and tap water, dry hands, then apply hand sanitizer; the safest option is to wash with bottled or boiled water.
Showering or bathing: Be careful not to swallow any water. Infants, young children and disabled persons should be supervised to ensure water is not ingested. Residents with open wounds, chronic illness or weakened immune systems should use boiled or bottled water to bathe until the advisory is lifted.
SWBNO will notify residents when the boil water advisory is canceled. If you have any questions, please call 52-WATER (504.529.2837).
INSTRUCTIONS FOR BOILING WATER
Bring water to a rolling boil in a clean container for a full minute. If the water has a flat taste afterward, shake it in a bottle or pour it from one container to another.
Please review general and LDH recommendations for managing a boil water advisory at http://ready.nola.gov/plan/boil-water/