An advisory issued late Friday night to approximately 2,500 City of Wilmington water customers in the northwest section of New Castle County is now canceled.
It is no longer necessary for these customers to boil water before using it.
The Wilmington Water Division had issued the cautionary “boil water” advisory because of a water main break caused by cold weather conditions that occurred along Barley Mill Road. In order to safely repair the main break, a valve controlling the water supply for the entire system was closed.
This caused low or no water pressure throughout the area for a period of about three hours. A pipe network that is under low pressure can possibly provide a contamination path for bacteria and other pathogens which is why Water Division managers felt it was prudent to ask customers to boil water until testing of the water supply could be conducted on Saturday.
Sampling/testing was conducted at several locations throughout the affected area on Saturday which produced negative results for bacteria. These results indicate that the water is safe to drink and the “boil water” advisory is now cancelled.
Under the City’s “precautionary boil water notice system,” residents are advised to boil water used for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth or washing dishes until testing is conducted to confirm the quality and safety of the water. A rolling boil of one minute is sufficient. As an alternative, bottled water may be used.
The geographic area for which this special water use precaution had been issued extended northwest along Kennett Pike beginning at North Dupont Road and ended at Methodist County House. The northern side of the area is generally bounded by Route 100 while the southern boundary is Barley Mill Road.
Wilmington Water Customers served by what is known as the Kennett Pike Pressure Zone where the water main break occurred reside generally in these areas, or portions of these areas:
· West Farm
· Monchanin Village
· Hillside Farms
· Barley Woods
· Valmy
· Fairthorne
· Greenville Place Apartments
· Ponds of Greenville
· Greenville Shopping Center
· Greenville Manor
· Montchanin
· Hagley Museum
· Centennial Circle
· Montchan
· Applecross
· Squirrel Run
· Westover Hills
