Nassau County health officials have issued a boil-water order after a water main break in Baldwin affected more than 30,000 people.
The county health department has ordered Liberty New York Water to issue a “Boil Water Notice” to their customers in Baldwin, Island Park, Oceanside, Roosevelt, and South Hempstead. Affected residents should not drink water without boiling it first, health officials said.
The boil-water order will likely remain in effect for the next few days, officials said in a message to customers. The order will be lifted after two consecutive tests confirm the absence of bacteria, officials said.
It was not immediately known how many people were affected by the boil-water order.
The health department alert was issued in a news release received via email at 8:14 p.m. Friday.
The water main break was reported about 3 p.m. Friday near the Baldwin and Oceanside border. It caused an outage for about 30,000 customers in Baldwin, Oceanside, Roosevelt, South Hempstead and Island Park, officials with Liberty Water said.
The affected consumers of Liberty New York are advised to bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or otherwise use bottled water.
Only boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and preparing food until further notice.
Boiling water kills bacteria and other organisms in the water, health officials said. Residents should discard any ice made Friday and turn off ice makers.
“When a loss of water pressure occurs, there is potential that conditions could allow for contaminants or bacteria to enter the water distribution system,” the health department said in the release.
At about 9 p.m. Friday, a company official said water pressure had been restored to all but 20 affected households.
For more information, contact Liberty New York Water at 877-426-6999.