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Boil Water Advisory In Effect For Eastbank Of Orleans Parish

The Eastbank of Orleans Parish is under a boil water advisory due to disruptions in power to city water pumping stations, according to statements from the Mayor’s Office and the Sewerage and Water Board.

A boil water advisory means residents in the affected area — the whole of the City of New Orleans on the east bank of the Mississippi River using the city water supply — should refrain from drinking tap water, making ice, brushing teeth or showering, or preparing or rinsing food until the water has been disinfected.

Water can be disinfected by bringing it to a “rolling boil” and keeping it there for at least one minute.

The S&WB says power surges from the Entergy utility system disrupted service at the Carrollton Water Plant at 2:55 a.m. Friday, which then resulted in interruptions to the Claiborne and Panola Pumping Stations. Officials believe water pressure in the public delivery system may have dropped below 15 pounds per square inch, the benchmark set by public health officials at which a public health advisory must be issued.

Robert Jackson, S&WB spokesman, says the delay between the water outage and the public advisory (issued at approximately 10 a.m.) was due to the time it took officials to ascertain the situation and get a read of pressures throughout the city.

“Once we were able to get the clearest picture of the pressures, we issued a precautionary boil water advisory out of an abundance of caution,” Jackson says.

The water board says it switched over from Entergy power to its own internal generation system and stabilized water pressure by 3:20 a.m. State Department of Health and Hospitals and water board officials are taking samples from points throughout the city, but it will be at least 24 hours before results can be determined.

Water customers on the Westbank of Orleans Parish are unaffected by the disruption and do not need to boil their water.

Questions for the water board can be directed to 504-529-2837.

Jason Saul served as WWNO's Director of Digital Services. In 2017 he took a position at BirdNote, in Seattle.

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