What a boil order means for your health and safety

The city of Washington is under a boil order, and will be for at least a couple of days. That means residents who wish to consume water must first boil it. The city recommends bringing the water to a rolling boil for at least two minutes.

The city maintains its water under high pressure in its water towers. If the pressure gets too low, harmful bacteria such as e-coli can enter the water supply. That is why boil orders are issued when the water pressure falls below a certain level. On Sunday, Washington?s water towers were completely empty.

E-coli can cause food poisoning, urinary tract infections and neonatal meningitis. This and other water-borne illnesses can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches and fatigue. Infants, young children, the elderly, and people with severely compromised immune systems are more at risk of illness from water contamination.

Water should be boiled if it?s used for drinking, teeth-brushing, preparing food, beverages, ice cubes and washing fruits and vegetables. Drinking water still needs to be boiled if it is run through a water purification device that is designed to improve the taste and odor of water.

Dishes should be washed in a dishwasher with a sanitizing cycle, or soaked in bleach after washing and then allowed to air dry.

Some kind of temporary hand-washing station should be set up rather than to use the potentially contaminated tap water. Residents may wash their hands in boiled water, bottled water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

It is not necessary to boil water for other purposes such as showering, bathing or for laundry. Adults, teens, and older children can wash, bathe, or shower but should avoid swallowing the water. Toddlers and infants should be sponge-bathed.

Any equipment that is connected to a water main can be contaminated and is therefore also subject to the boil order. This includes drinking fountains, hand sinks, vegetable sinks, dish machines, ice cream machines and water filters.

Once the boil order is lifted, objects that have come in contact with water should be flushed, cleaned and sanitized in accordance with the manufacturer?s instructions. This includes beverage machines, coffee or tea urns, ice machines, glass washers and dishwashers.