Pinellas Beaches Residents: What To Know About Coronavirus And Your Drinking Water

Press release from the Pinellas County Government:

What You Need to Know About COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and Pinellas County’s Drinking Water, Reclaimed Water and Wastewater:

Drinking Water
• COVID-19 disease has not been detected in drinking-water supplies. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the risk to water supplies is low. Residents can continue to use and drink water from their tap as usual.
• Boiling your water is not necessary as a precaution against COVID-19.
• You may continue to use drinking water to wash your hands and for consumption. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC), washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds helps prevent the spread of COVID-19.
• You do not need to buy bottled water or store drinking water. There are no indications that COVID-19 is in the drinking water supply or will affect the reliable supply of water.
• Pinellas County Utilities’ water supply meets or surpasses all EPA regulations for the treatment requirements for public water systems that prevent waterborne pathogens such as viruses from contaminating drinking water. These treatment requirements include filtration and disinfectants that remove or kill pathogens before they reach the tap.

Reclaimed Water & Wastewater
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has indicated that, “there is no evidence to date that COVID-19 virus has been transmitted via sewerage systems, with or without wastewater treatment.”
• COVID-19 is a type of disease that is particularly susceptible to disinfection.
• Reclaimed water is highly treated wastewater that has already gone through disinfection process. Currently there is no evidence of COVID-19 infection through reclaimed water.
• According to the EPA, the standard treatment and disinfectant processes at wastewater treatment plants are expected to be effective.
• Pinellas County treats biosolids using a pelletizing process that meets all EPA guidelines (40 CFR 503) for Class A pathogen reduction. To meet these requirements, the residuals are heated to extreme temperatures in a triple pass drum dryer.

Visit https://www.epa.gov/coronavirus/coronavirus-and-drinking-water-and-wastewater and https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 to learn more about the coronavirus and drinking and wastewater.

This press release was produced by the Pinellas County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.