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Boil water notices in Brevard: who is under one, who isn’t, and what to do until they lift
After the record flood, all City of Melbourne water customers and part of Palm Bay are under precautionary boil water notices. Cocoa, Titusville and Rockledge have no notices posted. Here is how to stay safe and how notices get lifted.
Service guide. As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3. Check your utility for updates.
Two Brevard water systems have precautionary boil water notices in effect after the record flood: the City of Melbourne’s, for all of its customers, and the City of Palm Bay’s, for a mapped area around a main break on Port Malabar Boulevard NE. A notice stays in place until the utility formally rescinds it.
Under a notice
City of Melbourne water, all customers. That includes customers served through West Melbourne’s system, plus Indialantic, Indian Harbour Beach, Melbourne Beach, Melbourne Village, Palm Shores, Satellite Beach and unincorporated Brevard south of the Pineda Causeway if you get a Melbourne water bill. Suntree and Viera are on Cocoa’s system and are not covered. The city issued the notice Monday after a major water main break, Spectrum News 13 reported.
City of Palm Bay, mapped area around Port Malabar Boulevard NE. Early Tuesday the city expanded the affected area to include more customers, as shown on its updated map. Everyone inside the highlighted area is under the notice “regardless of whether their water service has been interrupted,” and flooding may delay repairs, Florida Today reported.
No notice posted
City of Cocoa Utilities, which serves Suntree and Viera, among others: its boil water notices page reads “There are no alerts at this time.”
City of Titusville: its Alert Center reads “There are no active alerts.”
City of Rockledge: its Alert Center reads “There are no active alerts.”
How to stay safe under a notice
Boil, or use bottled water. Bring water to a rolling boil and keep it boiling for one minute. Boil tap water even if it is filtered.
Use boiled or bottled water to wash fruits and vegetables and to make drinks such as coffee and tea, and to brush your teeth.
Can’t boil? If the water is clear, add 1/8 teaspoon (8 drops) of unscented household liquid bleach per gallon, mix well and wait at least 30 minutes. If it is cloudy, filter it through a clean cloth first, treat the same way and wait 30 minutes; if it is still cloudy, add another 1/8 teaspoon and wait 30 more minutes. If it is still cloudy after that, throw it out and start over, or use bottled water.
Ice: don’t use ice from trays, dispensers or ice makers. Use store-bought ice until the notice is lifted.
Showers: be careful not to swallow any water.
When will notices lift?
Under state health guidelines, the utility that issued a notice rescinds it after at least one day of representative bacteriological sample results, along with acceptable disinfection levels and the agreement of state health or environmental regulators. After a main break, it must sample both upstream and downstream of the break. If the first day’s samples come back unsatisfactory, the utility needs two consecutive days of satisfactory results. In Melbourne, the break must be repaired before that process can finish. Keep boiling until you see a formal rescission notice.
Where to check
Your water utility’s website or alert page, listed above.
State Assistance Information Line: 800-342-3557.
Based on utility notices, Florida Department of Health guidance and published reports. 321 Daily has not tested any water.
