MONROE, N.C. — A boil water notice was lifted for some neighbors in Monroe, but thousands of neighbors are still being warned to boil their water and dozens of businesses are closed Thursday.
City leaders sent out a boil water alert for its customers overnight, saying they detected a trace of E. coli in the water system near one of the Monroe Fire Department stations.
According to the city, people in the west zone still need to boil their water, likely until Friday afternoon. The yellow star on the map is where they found the E. coli. The east zone, which includes downtown Monroe, does not need to boil water anymore.
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Union County Public Schools announced all schools would be closed Thursday due to the issue.
Many businesses in Monroe say they didn’t find out about the boil water notice until early this morning, including Sorella Coffee, which had to close for the day.
The manager of the downtown coffee shop, Turner Wilkinson, told Channel 9’s Gina Esposito even though their coffee is boiled before it’s served, they decided to close for the safety of their customers.
“It’s frustrating,” Wilkinson said. “You’re losing out on a couple thousand dollars. It’s not the best.”
Union County said Environmental Health would be reaching out to impacted facilities, but the businesses Esposito spoke with said they hadn’t heard by opening time.
“Seems that some businesses are open, some are closed, but I guess everyone is a little confused on it,” Wilkinson said.
Union County Public Health is required by state law to temporarily suspend permits for restaurants, schools and childcare centers during a boil notice. The county says all regulated facilities were contacted by 9 a.m.
Jacqueline Arroyo works in Monroe. She said she and her colleagues started the morning prepared, not knowing how long it would last.
“With businesses closing it’s just better to be safe than to have people get sick,” she said.
A report from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality cited recent heavy rains as a possible factor in the contamination.
The report says bacterial contamination can occur when increased runoff enters the drinking water source or due to a break in the pipe or failure in the water treatment process.
To stay safe, the city says residents should boil all tap water for at least one minute before drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, making ice, or giving it to pets. You can also use bottled water instead.
The city of Monroe says nine customers are directly affected by the E. coli found, though they haven’t said which.
City leaders say if you experience diarrhea, nausea, cramps, headaches, or other symptoms, seek medical advice.
The city says it has isolated the affected area and flushed nearby water mains to prevent any spread. They say the boil water advisory for everyone else in the west zone is a precaution.
The city expects the advisory to last through tomorrow afternoon.
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