CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N.Y. — The Chautauqua County Health Department has issued a boil water order and water conservation order for all water customers in the Village of Brocton and all Town of Portland on July 17.
All water used for eating and drinking should be boiled before use or bottled water is encouraged to be used. This order is due to multiple water main breaks that occurred Monday morning leaving some customers without any water at all.
When the water mains lose their pressure it increases the chance that untreated water and harmful microbes could enter the system resulting in the need to boil water before use. Boiling water kills bacteria and other microbes that could be present.
After the break has been fixed, the Water District staff will flush the entire system out and collect water samples to make sure the water is safe for use again, and customers will be informed when the tests confirm that no harmful bacteria are present in the system and you no longer need to boil your water.
This order also goes for washing dishes as well.
The Chautauqua County Health Department is requiring all Village of Brocton and Town of Portland customers to please limit their water usage to reduce the draw on the storage tank until further notice. Please reduce water usage by 50%. Customers can reduce water use by taking the following actions:
- Do not use any water outside of your home or business including filling swimming pools, washing cars, and watering lawns and gardens.
- Limit washing clothes during this period or use a commercially available laundromat.
- Use paper plates and disposable silverware to reduce washing dishes.
- Only run automatic dishwashers when completely full.
- Use less water for baths and take shorter showers.
- Do not let the water run unnecessarily such as while brushing teeth or shaving.
To learn more visit chqgov.com
