The Village of Vermontville's water system lost pressure and bacterial contamination may have occurred, so residents are being told to boil their water before using it.

 

Residents are advised to bring water it to a boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water for drinking, brushing teeth, making ice, washing dishes or preparing food.  Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.

 

Residents should continue using boiled or bottled water until further notice, likely several days. The village will inform residents when tests show no bacteria and the water is safe to drink and there will be no need to boil water.

 

Village officials ask that those who get the notice share the information with other people who drink the water, especially those who may not have received the notice directly; people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses, They also may post the notice in a public place or distribute copies by hand or mail.

 

Measures are currently being undertaken to correct the situation. The loss of water pressure in the water system was caused by a water tower inspection and two water main breaks on Oct. 15.

 

Pressure has been restored, and Department of Public Works staff will be taking other remedial actions such as flushing and collecting bacteriological samples from around the system to determine that the water quality meets the state drinking water standards.

 

They anticipate resolving the problem within three days when testing from the DEQ is received. Bacteria are generally not harmful and are common throughout our environment, however, whenever a water system loses pressure for any significant length of time, precautionary measures are taken.

 

For more information, contact the DPW at 517-726-1444 or 194 South Main Street. P.O. Box K, Vermontville MI 49096.

 

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.