IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER

City of Port Jervis Water System Did Not Meet Treatment Requirements

BOIL YOUR WATER BEFORE USING

Our water system recently violated a drinking water standard. As our customers, you have a right to know what happened, what you should do, and what we did to correct this situation.

We routinely monitor your water for turbidity (cloudiness).  This tells us whether we are effectively filtering the water supply. Water samples for February 25th showed turbidity measurements over 1.0 turbidity units. The standard is that no samples may exceed 1.0 turbidity units at any time. Upon discovery; the problem was rectified and turbidity levels returned to normal.  Normal turbidity levels at our plant are well below the New York State standard of 0.3 turbidity units.

What should I do?

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. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth, and food preparation until further notice.

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.  General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are

Available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1 (800) 426-4791.

What does this mean?

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. These symptoms 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.

What happened?  What was done?

In the aftermath of the storm that dropped 2.5 inches of rain over an 8 hour period, the night of 2/24/16. The water flow from this event inundated our reservoir with runoff.  Which in turn caused treatment problems, and the violation of the turbidity standards set forth by the NYS Dept of Health.  Filter water turbidity returned to normal levels within hours, and are below the turbidity standards at the present time.

For more information, please contact Mr. Scott Decker at (845) 858-4009.

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.

The City of Port Jervis Water Department is sending this notice to you.

State Water System ID# 3503554