SAN DIEGO—Customers of California American Water have been issued an advisory on Aug. 24 to boil water because of E. coli found in drinking water.
The advisory affects customers who reside in the city of Imperial Beach, Coronado, south of Fiddlers Cove, and portions of San Diego and Chula Vista.
Those customers are asked to use boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking purposes as a safety precaution.
The California Division of Drinking Water recommends bringing all water to a boil, let it boil for three minutes, and let it cool before using, or to use bottled water.
“Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking and food preparation until further notice,” the water agency said. “Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water. This is the preferred method to assure that the water is safe to drink. Alternatively, you may add eight drops of unscented household bleach to one gallon of water and let sit for 30 minutes.”
In addition, schools in one district will keep their doors closed Aug. 25 due to this advisory but another district will keep their schools open.
All schools in the San Ysidro School District will be closed, including San Ysidro Middle School, Vista Del Mar Middle School, La Mirada Elementary School, Ocean View Hills Elementary School, Smythe Elementary School, Sunset Elementary School, and Willow Elementary School.
But the Chula Vista Elementary School District says it’s aware of the advisory and will keep all of their schools open and will be taking precautionary measures to ensure the safety of students and staff.
These measures include turning off the water, excluding the toilets. They will also provide water bottles, hand sanitizer, and portable hand washing stations. Also, all food items served on Aug. 25 will not need to be rinsed or washed, the district explained.
California American Water customers are also asked to immediately discontinue any non-essential water usage, including all outdoor irrigation.
Customers with questions can call California American Water’s customer service center at 888-237-1333.
The Otay Water District posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, letting its customers know it was safe to consume its water.
“Otay Water District customers are NOT under a water boil alert. Otay water continues [to be] safe to use & drink. Cal American Water Company issued a boil water notice to its customers. It does NOT affect Otay customers,” the agency post reads.
