TAMPA — Repairs are now complete on the damaged water main that nearly depleted the city of Tampa’s clean water supply on Monday, but a citywide boil water notice remains in effect as the new system undergoes testing.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said the city hopes the precautionary boil water notice can be lifted as early as Thursday, although it could be Friday before Tampa Water customers can safely consume their tap water.
By Wednesday morning, crews were working to disinfect the new pipe and test the city’s water supply for possible contamination, a tweet from the city of Tampa said. Until the boil water notice is lifted, the Tampa Parks and Recreation Department will continue handing out free bottled water to city residents from its emergency storm supply, Castor said.
City staff will distribute both bottled water and face coverings at the following four locations from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday:
- Himes Avenue Sports Complex: 4501 S Himes Ave.
- MacFarlane Park: 1700 N MacDill Ave. (Turn onto Main Street from MacDill Avenue. Distribution near the basketball courts.)
- Al Barnes Park: 2902 N 32nd St.
- New Tampa Community Center: 17302 Commerce Park Boulevard.
Bottled water is limited to one case per household, but households with more than four members may receive two cases, according to city officials. Residents can also pick up two free face coverings per person. No I.D. is required.
City officials first issued the boil water notice Monday afternoon after a contractor, Ch2M Hill, struck a water transmission main, causing the 36-inch, pressurized pipe to burst. The breach sucked the plant’s clean, treated water supply out into the city’s streets, flooding some areas like N 30th Street, north of E Sligh Avenue, knee-deep in drinking water.
As the night wore on, water pressure within city limits dipped down to just over 20 percent, Castor said. That’s the legal threshold at which boil water notices must be issued.
The water plant is, essentially, “ground zero for the entire city’s water treatment,” and also provides drinking water to roughly 20 percent of Hillsborough County residences outside city limits, Castor said. According to Hillsborough County’s Water Resources Department, those neighborhoods include Eastlake, Fairview, Herschel Heights, Pebble Creek, Palm River and Seaboard.
The plant draws water from the adjacent Hillsborough River, making Tampa one of the largest areas in Florida to rely on surface water rather than an underground supply.
To safely use tap water at home, residents should bring water to a rolling boil and hold it at boil for a minute before consuming. It’s also safe to add one-eighth of a teaspoon of bleach to each gallon of tap water and let it stand for 30 minutes before drinking. Unscented household bleach is recommended. Water purification tablets and iodine commonly sold at camping and sporting goods stores is another safe alternative.
Most precautionary boil water notices last for at least two days to allow for necessary testing and inspections from health officials, said Brad Baird, the city’s deputy administrator for infrastructure and mobility. A team of technicians is now working to collect water samples throughout the plant’s service area for laboratory testing, he said.
“Then those samples have to get clearance from the health department and then we’ll do that procedure all over again,” Baird said.
When every sample has been tested and cleared twice, the city will be allowed to lift its boil water notice.
Seven years ago, Tampa Water customers were ordered to boil their water for 37 hours when the plant shut down after losing power through a series of events that included a squirrel gnawing through a utility line.
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Tampa water main repaired, but boil water notice still in effect - Tampa Bay Times
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