San Diego, CA–Damage to a water main pipeline Thursday prompted the City of San Diego to issue a boil water notice for the Encanto community.
Residents and businesses in the area are advised to boil their tap water for drinking or food preparation to avoid potential illness. The notice is due to an extended water outage that resulted from a water main pipeline being struck by a contractor working near the intersection of Imperial Avenue and 65th Street.
The impacted area is north of Brooklyn Avenue, south of state Route 94, west of 69th Street and east of Kelton Road; as well as Leppert Court, the 1100-1469 blocks of Watwood Road and 1000-1400 blocks of Larwood Road.
All affected customers are advised to not drink the water without boiling it first. Instructions for boiling water for drinking purposes include:
- Boil all water for one minute (rolling boil).
- Let water cool before drinking.
- Use boiled or bottled water for drinking, brushing teeth and food preparation until further notice.
- Boiling water kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.
Here are alternatives if anyone is unable to boil their water:
- Household unscented liquid bleach:
- For clear water, use eight drops (1/8 teaspoon) of bleach for 1 gallon of water. For cloudy water filter through a clean cloth and use 16 drops (1/4 teaspoon) of bleach for 1 gallon of water.
- Mix well. Allow to stand for 30 minutes before using.
- Water may taste or smell like chlorine. This means disinfection has occurred.
- Water disinfection tablets:
- Please follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Customers can also temporarily use bottled water.
Residents can call their water system or read this guidance about their tap water: https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/emergency/dwa-comm-toolbox/before/tools/What-to-Do-During-a-Boil-Water-Advisory.docx.
The city will inform affected customers when tests show that water is safe to drink and they no longer need to boil their water. It is anticipated that the problem will be resolved within three days.
