Boil water notice for Tampa still in effect after water line breaks Monday

Some Tampa roads flooded Monday afternoon after a transmission main from the David L. Tippin Water Treatment Facility was hit by a third-party worker, according to city officials.

A citywide boil water notice was issued Monday afternoon as some streets, like 30th Street north of Sligh Avenue, flooded with knee-high water. The notice remained in effect Tuesday morning as crews continued to work on repairing the line, according to city news release.

Residents should bring water to a rolling boil and hold it at boil for a minute before consuming. It’s also safe to add 1/8th a teaspoon of bleach for one gallon of tap water, let it stand for 30 minutes, before drinking. Unscented household bleach is recommended. Water purification tablets and iodine commonly sold at camping and sporting goods stores is another safe alternative.

As of about 7:20 p.m., workers were able to stop the flow of water and were pumping out the excess in order to begin repairs.

Some parts of Tampa were experiencing low water pressure due to the main break. Tampa Water Department workers were attempting to stabilize the pressure so they can begin repairing the break, according to a news release.

Though there are no formal road closures yet, Eli Franco, a spokesman for the water department, said people should avoid the area of 30th Street North and Hillsborough Avenue.

Along with the boil notice, residents were told to shut off all automatic irrigation meters and sprinkler systems in an attempt to conserve water.

When Karen Kress left to pick up her three sons from school, there wasn’t a drop of water in the road. When she came back, her and the kids had to wade through cold knee-high water to get to their house.

Kress and her husband Chris Loy said the water was pouring onto 30th Street, near their home. The couple has lived behind the water treatment plant for years and said though there’s been a lot of work done recently, there’s never been a break like this. Kress called it more of an adventure than anything, and her sons joked about taking tubes to go down the deep and fast-flowing water.

“When we had to cross the road the current was strong enough that I almost lost my balance,” Kress said.