A boil water alert remains in effect Monday morning for residents and businesses in the city of Fort Lauderdale and several surrounding towns in Broward County.
On Sunday, the city said a sample from a ground water well tested positive for E. coli, a fecal indicator. A finished water sample taken from the Fiveash Treatment Plant tested negative.
As a precaution, the city said the well was immediately taken offline and to be flushed, re-tested, and re-evaluated. Officials said they hoped to have the problem resolved within 24 hours.
Other areas covered by the advisory include Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Oakland Park, Port Everglades Authority, Village of Sea Ranch Lakes, WIlton Manors, and sections of Davie and Tamarac (east of 441/State Road 7).
Affected residents should not use the water without boiling it first, as boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.
The city said to bring all water to a boil and let it continue boiling for one minute. Only boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation.
NBC 6 contacted several restaurants in the area, who said they are using bottled water, and taking ice machines out of operation while the alert is in effect.
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For more information, contact The City of Fort Lauderdale, Customer Operations Center at 954-828-8000. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
