The boil-water alert has been lifted for the East Leflore Water and Sewer District.
The Mississippi Department of Health said this morning that tests performed by its lab indicated that the water is now safe to drink in the water system that serves 2,100 customers.
The Health Department had issued the boil-water alert on Friday after tests showed an unsafe level of bacteria, including E. coli, in the water.
Shemeka Grice, the operations manager for East Leflore, drove water samples down to Jackson Sunday. An underground well at Greenwood-Leflore Airport, which was the source of the contamination, was flushed over the weekend, she said. The Department of Health kept lab technicians working over the weekend to test the samples.
Grice was informed this morning that the well flushes had been successful, but monitoring will continue.
Although the water was cleared for drinking again, the Health Department issued several precautions. It said that faucets should be flushed for a total of 10 minutes per household to clear out any remaining water that was contaminated. For those with multiple faucets, the time can be split proportionately (for example, running two faucets for five minutes each) but that every faucet should be run a minimum of two minutes, regardless of how many there are in the house.
Other precautions include:
• Discard any drinks, ice or food made during the boil-water alert.
• Rewash any food or drink contact items, such as utensils and plates.
• Run dishwasher through a cycle or two before washing dishes.
• Check water filters in faucets, refrigerators and elsewhere and replace if necessary.
• Change water for pets.
Several East Leflore customers called the Commonwealth with complaints that they were unaware of the contamination until reading the newspaper’s weekend edition. The Department of Health provides a warning system that sends out text messages but individuals have to sign up for the service on the department’s website. East Leflore does not have a warning system.
• Contact Mitch Robinson at 581-7235 or mrobinson@gwcommonwealth.com.
