4-day water boil advisory ends for all

A four-day water boil advisory ended Friday for all customers in Dayton and Montgomery County.

Dayton officials lifted the advisory in place since the water system lost power in Monday’s tornadoes. Most of the county came off the advisory Friday morning. Test results taking Brookville off the boil advisory were released in the afternoon.

“Notifications have begun to our largest industry users to resume operations,” said Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein.

Cargill, one of the area’s largest water users, said the company resumed operations Friday at its corn-milling plant, 3201 Needmore Road. Prior, the city had restricted Cargill from using water at the facility, causing it to temporarily close.

Residents are no longer asked to sparsely use water, though care should be taken after the boil advisory. Residents should flush their water by unscrewing and removing the faucet aerator, or screen, and turning on each cold water faucet or tap, and running it for three minutes. The aerator should be cleaned and reinstalled.

Food establishments should flush pipes and faucets for at least three minutes. Equipment with water line connections should be flushed, cleaned and sanitized. Drinking water fountains should be flushed for at least three minutes.

Food service operators, including restaurants and grocery stores, that lost power or water should contact Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County’s environmental health office to schedule an inspection before reopening.

Over the past week, the Dayton Foodbank collected more than a half-million gallons of drinking water. The water will continue to be distributed to areas where crews are working.

The Dayton Daily News and WHIO has partnered with the Dayton Foodbank to deliver food and water throughout the community in coming days. To donate to the effort, visit whio.com/tornadorelief.

Bonbright Distributors, Dayton’s MillerCoors distributor, will take additional water to distribution sites Monday. The company has distributed 12-packs of drinking water cans this week.

The city’s water system, which provides water to several communities in Montgomery County in addition to Dayton, lost power during the tornadoes, causing the system to depressurize.

Before this year, city employees estimate the water system went more than 30 years without losing pressure. But Monday’s storms challenged the system for the second time in 2019, cutting power to two water treatment plants and several pumping stations.

A water main break under the Great Miami River caused an unprecedented water outage in February, spilling more than 100 million gallons of treated water into the river.

UPDATE @ 4:50 p.m.:

The boil advisory for Brookville has been lifted, officials said.

All Montgomery County and Dayton customers are now clear of the boil advisory.

UPDATE @ 12:15 p.m.: 

The boil advisory issued for Dayton and Montgomery County water customers has been lifted for all customers except for those living in Brookville, according to officials.

>> Boil Water Advisory: 7 tips on what (and what not) to do from the CDC

The advisory, which included some parts of Greene County too, was lifted following a collective decision made by Dayton, Montgomery County, Greene County, and Ohio EPA officials.

>> Stay out of the Stillwater, Great Miami rivers: Blame the tornadoes

Water customers wanting to confirm the status of their service can do so by entering their service address into the search field of the map at www.daytonohio.gov/boiladvisory.

Conservation is still stressed across the system because some wells are operating on alternative power sources, according to officials.

Before you consume water, you are urged to follow these steps:

• Flush water
• Unscrew and remove the faucet aerator (screen)
• Turn on each cold water faucet/tap slowly
• Run cold water for three minute
• Clean and reinstall aerator

FIRST REPORT (May 30):

Water should be restored to everyone in Montgomery County, according to the county.

“We believe everyone in our service area should now have water,” read a tweet from Montgomery County.

However, a boil advisory is still in effect for some Dayton and Montgomery County residents.

The boil advisory has been lifted for the following areas:

• City of Dayton low service area
• Montgomery County southern system
• Portions of Greene County (the Clyo and Swigert pressure zones)

Water customers can enter their address at www.daytonohio.gov/boiladvisory to see if they are still under the boil advisory.

While the advisory has been lifted for some, everyone is asked to continue to conserve water and use it for limited use only.

Before you consume water, follow these steps:

• Flush water
• Unscrew and remove the faucet aerator (screen)
• Turn on each cold water faucet/tap slowly
• Run cold water for three minute
• Clean and reinstall aerator

PREVIOUS REPORT

A boil advisory remains in effect today for all City of Dayton, Montgomery County and Trotwood water customers after five tornadoes touched down Memorial Day.

Some Greene County residents are also under a boil advisory, and some Montgomery County residents have no water pressure.

Early Wednesday, low water pressure hindered firefighters’ efforts to extinguish a garage fire in Harrison Twp. There was no water coming out of the hydrant, and tankers had to bring in water.

>> Chief: ‘Water issues after the storms hindered our efforts’ in Harrison Twp. garage fire

The city began taking water samples at 4 p.m. Tuesday, and results of those tests are expected by 4 p.m. today, said Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein.

On Tuesday, she said the Miami Treatment Plant was pumping water slowly into the system after being brought back onto the electrical grid. The Ottawa Treatment Plant remains without power. Because of that, she said, the city is asking customers to conserve water to allow the system to stabilize.

Montgomery County officials said they have requested up to 1 million gallons of drinking water from the State of Ohio.

Bottled water will be available today at the following locations beginning at 10 a.m.:

• Corinthian Church, 700 N. James H. McGee, Dayton
• Morton Middle School, 8555 Peters Pike, Vandalia
• The Ridge Church, 7555 Brookville-Phillipsburg Road, Brookville
• Montgomery County Environmental Services, 1850 Spaulding Road, Dayton
• Washington Twp. Rec Center, 895 Miamisburg Road
• Montgomery County Fairgrounds, 645 Infirmary Road, Jefferson Twp.

Lyft is providing free rides to the water distribution sites with the code DAYTORELIEF19

This is the second time this year Dayton’s city water system has lost pressure.

>> Storm prompts second major boil water advisory of the year in Dayton region

In Greene County, a boil advisory has been issued for Greene County Sanitary Engineering customers in the Swigart, Clyo and Kitridge roads and Saville Estates areas.