ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The City of Englewood lifted a boil water advisory Friday. The city said Wednesday that the presence of E. coli had been detected in the water distribution system during monthly testing.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) said on Aug. 2 and 3, the city tested water quality samples collected from 11 different sites. After receiving positive results, CDPHE re-tested and the presence of E. coli was confirmed Wednesday and the boil water advisory was issued for Zone 1 in Englewood's water distribution system.
With the advisory now lifted, Englewood officials said residents in Zone 1 should:
- Flush the plumbing in your home by running all cold water faucets for at least five minutes each. Begin with the lowest faucet in your home or business and then open the other faucets one at a time, moving from your lowest floor to your highest. After five minutes, turn off your faucets in reverse order, from highest to lowest.
- Flush all appliances connected to the water line, like refrigerators and dishwashers.
- Disposable filters that have come in contact with contaminated water should be removed and replaced.
- Ice from ice makers should be dumped and replaced three times. Ice maker containers should be wiped clean with a solution of two tablespoons bleach to one gallon of water.
Businesses and healthcare facilities that were in the affected zone should;
- Make sure equipment with water line connections are flushed, cleaned, and sanitized according to manufacturers’ instructions.
- Managers of large buildings with water-holding reservoirs should consult with their facility engineer and health department about draining the reservoir.
- Flush pipes and faucets. Run cold water faucets continuously for at least 5 minutes.
- Flush drinking fountains. Run water continuously for at least 5 minutes.
- Run water softeners through a regeneration cycle.
- Drain and refill hot water heaters set below 113°F.
- Change all point-of-entry and point-of-use water filters, including those associated with equipment that uses water.
- Resume usual bathing practices and care for patients with breaks in the skin.
Crews flushed the water lines in Zone 1 and ran additional tests.
Water was distributed at the Englewood Civic Center on Thursday.
Residents can call the city at 303-762-2365 for more information.
Englewood Utilities said the contamination must be flushed in order for the advisory to be lifted. Wednesday, crews started that process using fire hydrants pumping out gallons of water. Experts said lines can also be decontaminated by adding high levels of chlorine.
“It's two steps to the process. One is to flush the line which takes some time. And then to other is to take the samples of the water at the different places in the system, make sure it’s all clean. But once you take the sample it takes actually 24 hours to get a reading to understand if you have E.coli or not," said University of Colorado Professor of Environmental Engineering Dr. Karl Linden.
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