The company and the agency issued the advisory on Friday as a precautionary measure because the water was not properly disinfected due to a mechanical failure at the treatment plant on Thursday evening, April 15, through Friday morning.
Officials reported that, although the water has been filtered, chlorine was not added for a period of 12 hours.
Plant operators have increased disinfection at our storage tank and resumed normal operation of the treatment plant.
All tap water used for drinking, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation should be boiled rapidly for at least one minute. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms and is the preferred method to assure that the water is safe to drink.
Customers also should discard ice cubes made from tap water or their refrigerators' water lines and boil water given to pets to drink. Tap water is safe for showering, bathing and other non-consumption use.
The notice said officials are collecting water samples for water quality testing and will notify residents as soon as test results confirm that the water meets all federal and state water quality standards.
If water quality was affected by this incident, failure to follow this advisory could result in stomach or intestinal illness. Results are expected to be available by Monday, April 19.
Inadequately treated water may contain disease-causing organisms, including bacteria, viruses and parasites that can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea and headaches. However, these symptoms can be caused not only by organisms in inadequately treated water, but from other sources as well.
Anyone who experiences any of these symptoms on a persistent basis may want to seek medical advice. People with severely compromised immune systems, infants and some elderly may be at increased risk and should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers.
If you choose to purchase and use bottled water during this advisory, you may save your receipts for reimbursement by Cal Water.
For reimbursement, please bring your receipts to our office, located at 6125 East Highway 20, Lucerne, CA 95458, or mail them to P.O. Box 1133, Lucerne, CA 95458, to the attention of Gay Guidotti.
The company apologized for the inconvenience.
Customers needing more information can call California Water Service Co. at 707-274-6624 or watch www.calwater.com for updates.
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