Boil Water Updates For Southwest Florida
We want you to be safe when it comes to drinking water. Here are the latest boil water updates for Southwest Florida.
Since Hurricane Ian pummeled Southwest Florida on September 28th, the area has been plagued with water issues. However, those issues have not only been from flooding. They are also from damaged water mains and pipes. A majority of the region, at some point, had absolutely no running water.
Now that the water has been stored to most areas, it doesn’t mean things are back to business as usual. There is still a chance that bacteria has contaminated some lines. Sewer systems are still compromised in some areas. That is why boil water precautions are still widely in effect.
Good news for Collier County residents including Naples. You are free from any water restrictions.
Lee County residents are not, with two exceptions; Bonita Springs and Lehigh Acres. These two area have a different water system and are cleared to use water at will. Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Pine Island and such must still boil.
In Charlotte County, the only residents NOT under a precautionary boil water notice are those who reside in Punta Gorda and those in the Burnt Store service area. The rest of the county, Port Charlotte and Englewood, must take precautions with their water.
Many of the boil water precautions can be found on the Lee County Utilities website.
In the meantime, here are some quick boil water do’s and don’ts until the precautionary boil water notices are lifted.
DO’s
- Bring water to a rapid boil for one minute then cool before using
- Add 8 drops of bleach to one gallon of water before drinking
- Laundry, it is OK to wash your clothing
- Shower, just keep your mouth closed
DONT’s
- Drink from the tap
- Use filtered water, it doesn’t filter out bacteria
- Use ice or make ice unless it’s with bottled or previously boiled water
- Brush your teeth with tap water
- Wash your dishes with tap water
- Use your dishwasher, unless you have a high temp sanitizing setting
- Cook or make coffee with tap water
We have some great resources here to help you in Hurricane Ian recovery.
In the meantime, we will keep you posted on boil water updates for Southwest Florida as we receive more information.
