PRECAUTIONARY BOIL WATER ADVISORY

PRECAUTIONARY BOIL WATER ADVISORY

For the Portales Water System
BOIL YOUR WATER BEFORE USING

Due to the water outage that occurred on September 8, 2019. The Portales Water System is advising its water consumers to boil water prior to consuming. Extreme low pressure or no pressure occurrences such as those experienced during a water outage may increase the likelihood of microbiological contamination within the distribution system. Although no contamination has currently been detected as a result of this water outage, customers of Portales Water System are still encouraged to boil their water until further notice.

What should I do? What does this mean?

• DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST. Bring all water to a boil, let it boil the water for one minute before drinking, cooking, washing fruits and vegetables, feeding a baby, brushing teeth, preparing drinks, making ice, and providing drinking water for pets. More details about precautions can be found in the following fact sheet: https://www.env.nm.gov/dwb/Documents/Boil_NMDOHNMED_7.13.16.pdf

• Although, no contamination has currently been detected in the Portales Water System, *Fecal coliforms and E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. Microbes in these wastes can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms. They may pose a special health risk for infants, young children, and people with severely compromised immune systems.*

• The symptoms above are not caused only by organisms in drinking water. If you experience any of these symptoms and they persist, you may want to seek medical advice. People at increased risk should seek advice from their health care providers about drinking this water.

What is being done?

The repair and disinfected; and, the system has been recharged and flushed. When repairs are made to the water system, we will conduct special monitoring to ensure that the system is free of microbial contamination. In addition, we will inform you when you no longer need to boil your water. We anticipate resolving the problem within 48 hours of the official posting of this notice.

For more information, please contact John Desha at 575-356-6662 or 100 W. First Street, PORTALES, NM 88130.

*Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.*

This notice is being sent to you by Portales Water System. State Water System ID#: NM3528522 .
Date distributed: _September 9, 2019_____.