POWAY — The boil-water advisory that Poway has been under since the weekend will likely be lifted on Friday, Poway Mayor Steve Vaus said Tuesday night just prior to the start of a City Council meeting.
Vaus said tests continue to show no contamination of the city’s water supply, but state regulators are requiring two more days of testing before giving the all clear.
Although city of Poway residents and businesses are being impacted by water quality issues, the Ramona Municipal Water District (RMWD) reports there are no potable water quality issues in Ramona.
Despite swirling rumors, RMWD General Manager David Barnum said Poway’s water issues are not impacting Ramona’s water supply.
“The treated water system is safe, no water boil alerts are required and restaurants are not impacted in Ramona,” Barnum said on Monday, Dec. 2.
Poway officials said Monday they believe backed-up storm drains caused the water contamination that led to the city’s first-ever boil water advisory over the weekend.
The county health department ordered the closing of all restaurants in the city and residents are being advised to boil their tap water before drinking it or using it for cooking, city officials said.
The recent rains caused the storm drains to back up into its water treatment facility, officials said. They added that crews are working around the clock to clean and flush the system, which may take two to five days before the water is declared safe.
The precautionary boil-water advisory for the City of Poway continued into it’s third day on Monday afternoon, with the city reporting it has 400,000 bottles of water available for residents.
“The City of Poway is continuing to take corrective action, performing water quality monitoring, and working toward getting this advisory lifted,” the city said in a statement on its website at 11 a.m.
The advisory was issued at approximately 6 p.m. on Saturday after a day of reports of discolored water. The County of San Diego separately ordered restaurants and produce shelves to be closed.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
