Under a boil order?
Here’s what to do:Fill a pot with water and heat until it reaches a rolling boil. Allow the water to boil up to three minutes before turning off the heat source. Allow the water to cool before putting it in a storage container.Source: City of Copperhill, Tenn., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
It might seem a little out of place to ask people to conserve water when the entire South is already swamped, but that's what officials in Copperhill, Tenn., and McCaysville, Ga., want their water customers to do.
Recent heavy rains have created a water shortage for the two towns often called "twin cities."
In Copperhill, officials also called for the utility's 400 customers to begin boiling their water to make sure it's drinkable after officials announced Tuesday that water was being hauled in from another location.
"We're asking our customers to conserve [and boil] until further notice," Copperhill City Clerk Amber Bledsoe said Tuesday. "We'll have to wait for conditions to clear. We just don't want to run out."
No boil notice had been issued for McCaysville's 2,800 water customers as of Tuesday, but a conservation notice has been in place for days.
The rain-muddied Toccoa River "is causing the McCaysville water system to have to slow down to properly filter the water," reads a notice from the city's water department. McCaysville officials first issued a conservation notice on Christmas Eve, but the relentless rain hasn't allowed the advisory to be lifted.
"The levels in storage are getting critically low," the notice reads. "Everyone is asked to conserve all possible water until the water department can return to normal operation and storage is replenished."
In Copperhill, Bledsoe said, water customers should limit water use and avoid filling hot tubs, washing vehicles or any other nonessential water-using activities until the advisories are lifted.
"We can still pump some but not for long periods," Bledsoe said.
Copperhill, population about 350, and McCaysville, population a little over 1,000, lie within the Ocoee River watershed on the mountainous eastern fringes of the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee and the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia.
Continuing rains in the coming days could extend the advisories, officials said. Forecasts call for heavy rain today and showers into the evening before things start to dry out Thursday and through the weekend.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or twitter.com/BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.
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