Here's an update on today's water main break in Dubuque.  Follow the link below to see if your home or business in affected.

The City of Dubuque Water Department is recommending residents in a portion of Dubuque to boil water before using for drinking or to use an alternative water source for drinking until approximately 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 5. A detailed map of the area is available at www.cityofdubuque.org/water.

The boil advisory was issued this morning and will expire within 48 hours of being issued as long as samples show no issues. City staff are taking water quality samples from throughout the zone impacted by the loss of pressure. The City recommends that customers within the defined area adhere to the boil advisory until 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 5. If contamination is detected, the advisory would be extended. Approximately 5,500 Dubuque water utility customers are impacted by the advisory.

Water department staff followed proper protocol and industry standards in responding to the main break. Through subsequent contact with the IDNR and their protocol, the water boil advisory was issued. As a result, the City’s water and health services department staff believe residents in the affected area who consumed water before receiving news of the advisory are unlikely to experience any adverse health effects.

Even if someone consumed potentially contaminated water before they were aware of the boil water advisory, the likelihood of becoming ill is low. Anyone experiencing symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, with or without fever, should contact their healthcare provider. For more information, visit: www.cityofdubuque.org/health

Here is a timeline related to the water main break:

At approximately 1:30 a.m. this morning (Tuesday, May 3, 2016) the City was notified of a water main break near 22nd and Johnson Streets involving a 20” transmission water main.

City staff mobilized and shut down water to an approximately five-block area around 3:15 a.m. Due to the size of water main, other areas were affected for a short period of time while staff shut down the break area. Approximately 3.3 million gallons of water were lost during the break.

Due to the size of the main involved in this break, the City’s Park Hill Stand Pipe at Gay Street was drained to a point that adequate pressure was lost at approximately 3 a.m. in this pressure zone of the water system. This loss of pressure created conditions that could possibly result in contamination of the system within this pressure zone. This triggered the City’s consultation with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) at approximately 8:30 a.m. today.

Based on the IDNR’s protocol, it was determined that a water boil advisory should be issued. A map was created, the boil advisory announcement was prepared and issued at approximately 10:30 a.m. through local media, the City’s communication channels and social media channels. A “CodeRed” telephone message was sent to approximately 8,700 phone numbers related to addresses in and near the water boil advisory area beginning at approximately 11:45 a.m. (Residents can register with CodeRed at www.cityofdubuque.org/codered.)

A contractor began working on the repair at 6 a.m. this morning and the repair is expected to be completed by 5 p.m. today (Tuesday, May 3).

 

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