BOIL WATER ORDER

January 21, 2013

The Village of Cayuga & Town of Aurelius WD #3 have high turbidity levels

BOIL YOUR WATER BEFORE USING

CUSTOMERS OF THE VILLAGE OF CAYUGA & TOWN OF AURELIUS WATER DISTRICT #3 ARE HEREBY ORDERED BY THE CAYUGA COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO BOIL ALL WATER FOR DRINKING AND CULINARY PURPOSES.

A drinking water standard was violated. Your water is routinely monitored for turbidity (cloudiness) to determine if it is effectively being filtered.  Turbidity levels of the water leaving the water treatment plant on January 21, 2013 exceed the maximum allowable standard. Because of these high levels of turbidity, there is an increased chance that the water may contain disease-causing organisms.

DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST. Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water certified for sale by the New York State Department of Health.  Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth, and food preparation until further notice.

Turbidity has no health effects. However, turbidity can interfere with disinfection and provide a medium for microbial growth. Turbidity may indicate the presence of disease causing organisms. These organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites, which can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches. 

The symptoms above are not just caused by organisms in drinking water. If you experience any of these symptoms and they persist, you may want to seek medical advice. People with severely compromised immune systems, infants, and some elderly may be at increased risk. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers.

What happened? What is being done?

The high turbidity levels in the treated water are due to high turbidity levels in Cayuga Lake.  It is anticipated that the boil water order will be in place until next week. You will be informed when the turbidity returns to appropriate levels, water samples confirm that there is no contamination in the distribution system, and you no longer need to boil your water.

For more information, please contact the Village of Cayuga at 315-252-1707, Town of Aurelius 315-255-1894, or the Cayuga County Health Dept. at 253-1405.

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.