New York Residents Told To Boil Water Amid Harmful Microbes Risk

Residents in and around the village of Fredonia, in western New York state, have been told to boil water before use after a disruption at a water treatment plant sparked concerns that the water "could contain harmful microbes."

On Thursday, the Chautauqua County Health Department issued the order for any resident connected to the Fredonia water system as "the New York State Department of Health requires that anytime water is not adequately treated a boil water order must be issued to notify customers."

Boiling water prior to use kills off potentially harmful bacteria it may contain, reducing the risk of illness.

"All Fredonia water customers must boil water used for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth and making coffee until further notice," the Chautauqua County Health Department wrote in a statement. "Water must be brought to a rolling boil for one minute then cooled prior to use."

It also told residents to use boiled or bottled water to wash dishes by hand, but dishwashers were safe to use if capable of running at 170 degrees Fahrenheit with a full dry cycle. The water was also considered safe for bathing as long as it is not consumed.

The health department said that once the treatment process had been fully restored and was operating normally, officials would "collect water samples on consecutive days to make sure the water is safe."

Newsweek reached out to the Chautauqua County Health Department via email for comment on Friday.

Thursday's order in New York isn't the only boil water notice to be given by local health officials recently in the U.S.

On Monday, residents of Earth, Texas were told to boil their water before use due to a break in a mains water pipe, according to local reports.

A few weeks prior, in January, people in Hays County, Texas were warned that "harmful bacteria and other microbes" may be present in their water following a "mechanical failure" at a processing facility that was caused by freezing cold temperatures from an Arctic blast descending over the U.S.

In late December, residents in over 23,000 properties near Tampa, Florida, were told to boil their water before using it "out of an abundance of caution" after a water main burst. Officials stressed that there was "no indication of contamination" as they had been able to isolate the affected pipe and restore pressure "within minutes" of the break occurring.

Tap water in the U.S. is federally regulated for safe consumption, but can become contaminated with pathogens or toxic chemicals when an issue with a water system arises.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), microbes that can contaminate tap water include E. coli, salmonella, legionella and norovirus.

Update 2/9/24, 8:12 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and to note that Newsweek reached out to the Chautauqua County Health Department for comment.