Jefferson Parish issued a boil water advisory Thursday for the entire east bank.
UPDATE: Boil water order lifted for east bank of Jefferson Parish
Officials with Cynthia Lee Sheng's administration blamed "repeated power surges and outages" at the water treatment plant in Old Jefferson for a loss of pressure in the water distribution system, necessitating the boil advisory.
Parts of that area lost power for more than three hours Thursday morning.
The advisory will remain in effect until samples are analyzed to ensure the water is safe to use. That typically takes about 24 hours.
In the meantime, customers are advised to boil or disinfect water before using it to drink, prepare food or cook, make ice, brush teeth or wash dishes, in order to avoid harmful bacteria that might enter the water supply as a result of low pressure in underground pipes.
Bathing and showering is safe as long as the water is not swallowed.
Water should be boiled for 1 minute in a clean container, or disinfected by mixing 1/8th teaspoon of unscented, liquid chlorine laundry bleach with 1 gallon of water and letting it stand for at least 30 minutes before using.
For additional information, call the water treatment plant at (504) 838-4312.
