Boil water advisory lifted in Sanford and Lee County
Residents in Lee County and the city of Sanford were under a boil advisory Monday and Tuesday after a break in a 12-inch water line near North Horner Blvd. and U.S. Highway.
The advisory was lifted on Tuesday night and no bacterial contamination was found.
Utilities and Engineering Director Paul Weeks tells WRAL News that Sanford supplies water to the entire county.
A spokesperson for the city told WRAL News the water was tested Monday and results will be returned Tuesday evening.
"Should the results show that the water sampled yesterday did not meet regulatory standards, another round of samples will be drawn and we will have 24 more hours of boiling," the city said.
Before using water for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes or prepping food, customers should boil water vigorously for one minute to kill any disease-causing organisms that may be present in the water. Alternatively, they can use bottled water.
Lee County Schools closed all school buildings on Monday and sent summer students home early after a water main break in Sanford. Summer break is currently underway, but some school buildings are used for camps.
Andrew Currin, the environmental health supervisor for the county health department sent out an advisory for businesses as well. It said:
“Due to the City of Sanford’s water system leak, all establishments regulated and inspected by the Department of Health and Human Services (food establishments, daycares, nursing homes, tattoo artist, etc.) without a backup water supply plan are recommended to close immediately if water cannot be boiled prior to establishment usage. The City of Sanford has issued a boil water advisory city wide because of low pressure and the water cannot be guaranteed safe to drink. Please see attached guidance on guidelines for food services. If your establishment cannot maintain these requirements, you must close until the boil water advisory has been lifted.”
Sanford Fire Chief Matt Arnold said his department met with others across the county and came up with a game plan in the event of a fire.
“Water impacts the ability to get water from a fire hydrant. We just wanted to make sure we had plans in place in case there was a fire. ... We’d make plans to bring in help from around the county and outside the county, if we needed it,” he said.
