West Plains, MO. – The City of West Plains announced at noon today that Aid Avenue is closed to traffic as crews repair a water main. As a result, a boil water advisory is in effect for residents on Aid Avenue. Anytime maintenance is done on a water line, it could cause possible water contamination, requiring the need for everyone to boil their water.
Water must be boiled until further notice, i.e. until after samples have been tested and safe results are received from the Department of Natural Resources. Water must be boiled anytime repairs are made and the system must be sampled and safe results received from the lab at DNR before we know if the water is safe to drink .
To ensure the safety of the water, customers should boil water vigorously for three (3) minutes prior to use for cooking or drinking. Customers also can disinfect food contact surfaces (dishes) by immersing them for at least one (1) minute in clean water containing at least fifty (50) parts per million (ppm) free chlorine. Adding one (1) teaspoon of unscented household chlorine bleach to each gallon of water (or 1.3 milliliters of bleach per liter of water) should result in a solution with more than fifty (50) parts per million (ppm) free chlorine, provided the water is free of hydrogen sulfide and significant levels of dissolved metallic and organic compounds.
