Savannah officials provide insight into timing, cause of near citywide boil water advisory
The city issued a boil water advisory for a vast majority of its water customers at around 8 p.m.; impacted areas include customers in the city limits, portions of unincorporated Chatham County and some customers in Effingham County. The advisory is still active.
The city's I&D plant pumps roughly 50 million gallons of water each day, meaning water can take from "a few hours" up to 20 hours to reach customers' tap within the city, depending on the tap's location within the water system, City Manager Jay Melder said during the briefing.
Elevated turbidity does not pose a health risk itself but can interfere with disinfection in the treatment process and "provide a medium for microbial growth," Melder said. Turbidity may indicate the presence of bacteria, viruses, and parasites, which can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches, Melder said.
"These are the impacts that we are asking our customers to avoid by boiling their water until the boiled water advisory is lifted," Melder said.
Breaking news: Savannah water users in Chatham, Effingham counties under boil water advisory Friday
The issue was caused by an "interruption" with a pipe that feeds a purifying chemical into the system. The issue was resolved Friday evening and city staff is still investigating the exact cause of the interruption.
City crews were testing water samples Friday night, and those water samples take roughly 24 hours to mature, according to staff. Melder said the city is looking at around 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. Saturday for test results to return and determine if it is safe to lift the advisory.
More specifically, city crews are monitoring chlorine levels, a disinfecting chemical. Those levels were "sustaining themselves" as of Friday's 10:30 p.m. press briefing, Feldner said.
"As long as those chlorine levels remain at the appropriate level, then even if there is a slightly elevated turbidity in the water, the chlorine disinfection remains intact," he said.
Friday night's briefing provided greater insight into the city's monitoring and response timeline.
After noticing elevated turbidity in the early afternoon, staff alerted Feldner of the levels at around 4:15 p.m. Crews conducted further testing and turbidity continued to rise, Feldner said. The EPD was notified at 6 p.m., and the EPD subsequently advised a boil water advisory was needed due to how peak levels compared to regulatory standards.
The regulatory threshold for turbidy is 1.0 Nephelometric Turbidity Units, and Savannah's levels peaked at 1.6 NTUs. Officials noted that Savannah's water system is a "blended system," with a mix of groundwater and surface water. It is surface water that requires treatment.
While the system is blended, customers northwest and due north of the city receive 100% surface water, Feldner said. While an exact percentage was not available, as high as 75% of the city's system may have seen "some amount" of higher turbidity, Felnder added.
Evan Lasseter is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah officials shed light on cause, timing of boil water advisory
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