The Clark County Utilities Department has issued a water boil advisory to almost 1300 homes in Park Layne after a tempory loss of water pressure in the lines.

Residents in the lower plat, or east of Raynor Park, are advised to boil their water for at least one minute before drinking, making ice, or brushing their teeth.

“We’re working to identify what caused the loss in pressure” said Chuck Bauer, Director of the Clark County Utilities Department. “Our first goal is to protect the health of the residents.”

Bauer says that his department was conducting semi-annual maintenance on the water lines to remove any rust or debris that may be present when the problem occurred. “Our field agents have done everything by the book, we see no reason as to why the pressure dropped…but it has.”

If the pressure drops below 20psi, any water outside of the pipe now has the possibility of entering and contaminating the line. Bauer explains that Clark County does chlorinate their water to disinfect any potential bacteria in the water system. The boil advisory is a precautionary measure according to Bauer.

The water pressure is back to normal but the boil advisory still remains until samples are collected and analyzed. “We have to collect 17 samples to gauge the quality of the water for the area, that means we have to find people who are home.”

The boil advisory is in effect until further notice, but Bauer expects the ban to be lifted sometime tomorrow evening. “Maybe around 5 tomorrow we will get the results from the lab.”

Bauer says that residents can check the status of the boil advisory via the front page of the county’s website http://www.clarkcountyohio.gov/ or by calling the County Utilities Department at 521-2150 and selecting option #2.