UPDATE (4 p.m.): Lee County Government has recommended that all establishments regulated and inspected by the Department of Health and Human Services – including food establishments, daycares, nursing homes, and tattoo artists – that don’t have a backup water supply close immediately if they cannot boil water prior to usage.
“It is my understanding that the City has found the issue causing the outage, but no timeline has been shared. Please monitor and follow any guidance from the City of Sanford regarding a timeline on the boil water advisories or any other advisories,” Environmental Health Supervisor Andrew Currin wrote in an email Monday afternoon.
Currin supplied a list of guidelines for food service and wrote “if your establishment cannot maintain these requirements, you must close until the boil water advisory has been lifted.”
See the guidelines below.
ORIGINAL STORY (11 a.m.): A water line break in Sanford has forced several businesses and government buildings to close today and has led to a city-wide boiled water advisory until further notice.
According to the city, the Sanford Water Filtration Facility detected a break in the water system at about 3 a.m. today. Many in the area woke up without water or with extremely low water pressure. Crews were called in, and the break was discovered at about 8:30 a.m. As of this story, work was still being done to restore water.
According to the city, “Periods of low or no pressure in the distribution system can increase the potential for back siphonage and the introduction of bacteria into the water system. Therefore, the City of Sanford advises that when water is restored, consumers boil all water used for human consumption (including drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation) or use bottled water.”
Once repairs are complete, city workers will perform tests on the water to make sure it is safe for consumption.