Following Hurricane Ida, a boil water advisory has been issued for Jersey City and Hoboken until further notice for all Suez Water customers.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“We routinely monitor your water for turbidity (cloudiness). This tells us whether we are effectively filtering the water supply. A water sample taken on September 2, 2021 showed turbidity levels of greater than 10 nephelometric turbidity units,” Suez said this evening.
“This is above the standard of 1 nephelometric turbidity unit. Because of these high levels of turbidity, there is an increased chance that the water may contain disease-causing organisms.”
Furthermore, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said the advisory was issued since heavy rains from Ida caused damage to the aqueduct in Cedar Grove.
“Turbidity has no health effects. However, turbidity can interfere with disinfection and provide a medium for microbial growth,” the Suez announcement continued.
“Turbidity may indicate the presence of disease-causing organisms and inadequately treated/disinfected water may contain disease-causing organisms. These organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites which can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches.”
Additionally, the DEP noted that SUEZ emergency crews are on site repairing the aqueduct, which is expected to be completed this evening, with other crews flushing the system in both Jersey City and Hoboken to remove high turbidity out of the system.
SUEZ will also continue to collect samples and monitor water quality in the distribution system. The company will work with the DEP to inform residents when the boil water is lifted.
Furthermore, Suez tweeted this evening that they are on Clinton and 3rd Streets distributing bottled water to customers.
After initially announcing water bottle distribution for 9 a.m. Friday, Suez pushed that time back an hour for the following Jersey City locations:
• Ward A – Greenville Hospital – 1825 John F. Kennedy Boulevard
• Ward B – Belmont and JFK Boulevard (Top of Lincoln Park)
• Ward C – County Courthouse – 595 Newark Ave.
• Ward D – Bowers and Central Avenue (near late Councilman Michael Yun’s former office)
• Ward E – Jersey and Newark Avenues
• Ward F – One Jackson Square (City Hall Annex)
Editor’s note: This story was updated with new information on Friday.
We went all day in the evening after the storm without an advisory to boil water and our political leaders sat on their hands regarding this all day after being alerted to the issue, this is a sign the protocols for issuing an advisory in an emergency like a hurricane need to be looked at.
The advisory went out as soon as they knew about the problem.