Baton Rouge – State health officials have issued an update to conditions of Louisiana water systems that were seriously impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Boil advisories have been lifted for some parish water systems, in particular the system supplying water to the east bank of New Orleans.
The boil advisories, which were issued after a loss of pressure occurred in those systems, have been lifted since testing showed the water does not contain unsafe levels of bacteria and is safe to drink and use.
Areas in which the boil advisory has been lifted include the portion of the east bank of New Orleans that extends from the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain and from Orleans and Jefferson Parish boundary to the Industrial Canal. These areas are added to the Algiers area on the West Bank that was cleared several weeks ago.
Citizens who are returning to these areas are asked to run both the hot and cold taps for 10 to 15 minutes to flush the plumbing systems of their homes and businesses.
A boil advisory remains in effect for areas that are located east of the Industrial Canal, including the Lower Ninth Ward and New Orleans East. More specifically, these areas include the portions of zip codes 70117 and 70126 that are located east of the Industrial Canal and entire zip code areas 70127, 70128 and 70129.
Boil advisories still remain in effect for other water systems that experienced pressure loss during the hurricanes. Customers of these water systems are reminded not to drink, make ice from, brush teeth, wash hands, prepare or rinse food with tap water unless it has been properly disinfected until further notice.
For a complete listing of the parish water systems that have had boil advisories lifted and those that still remain under a boil advisory, please visit www.dhhemergencynews.com.
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