The precautionary boil-water advisory for the City of Poway continued into it’s third day on Monday afternoon, with the city reporting it has 400,000 bottles of water available for residents.
“The City of Poway is continuing to take corrective action, performing water quality monitoring, and working toward getting this advisory lifted,” the city said in a statement on its website at 11 a.m.
The advisory was issued at approximately 6 p.m. on Saturday after a day of reports of discolored water. The County of San Diego separately ordered restaurants and produce shelves to be closed.
Bottled water was available to residents at Lake Poway and city hall, with a supply of 400,000 bottles on hand, according to the city. The city also advised residents that boiling water for one minute would kill any harmful bacteria.
The contamination problem was traced to rain contamination of a “clearwell,” a large reservoir, at the city’s water treatment facility.
“After extensive investigation, the City of Poway believes that a storm drain backed up into the water treatment facility’s clearwell reservoir during last week’s storm,” the city announced at 4 p.m.
Crews were draining a section of the clearwell reservoir in order to disinfect it before flushing the water distribution system.
“Per the State of California requirements, the city continues to test water and has found that the chlorine residuals meet standards,” the city said, but added that the boil-water advisory will remain in place until removed by state authorities.
Updated at 8 p.m., Monday, Dec. 2, 2019