North Caldwell Boil Water Advisory Lifted, Repairs Done: Day 4 Update

This article was updated at 10 a.m. on Aug. 12

CALDWELLS, NJ — A boil water advisory has been lifted in North Caldwell, authorities announced Saturday.

The Hilltop portion of North Caldwell was placed under a boil water advisory on Wednesday after a main break and a series of system failures at the Passaic Valley Water Commission. The advisory was expected to remain in place until test results became available, authorities said.

The impacted service area included Arbor Road, Courter Lane, Glenview Road, Ferndale Road, Four Seasons Drive, Harvest Lane, Hill Street, Hilltop Drive and Sagamore Drive.

"We are pleased to report that the repairs have been completed and subsequent water quality testing shows the water quality to be safe," borough officials said Saturday.

Although it's no longer necessary to boil your water before using, officials still had some advice for local residents:

• Run your water faucets for 3-5 minutes to flush your service connection and interior plumbing with water from the service main.
• Empty and clean your automatic ice makers and water chillers.
• Drain and refill your hot water heater if the temperature is set below 113 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Service connections with a water softener/cartridge filters should be run through a regeneration cycle or other procedures recommended by the manufacturer.
• Water reservoirs in tall buildings should be drained and refilled (as applicable).

WEDNESDAY RECAP

North Caldwell officials issued their initial advisory about the situation on Wednesday, citing a water main break. The borough issued the following notice at 8:18 a.m.:

“A water outage is affecting the Hilltop portion of North Caldwell. Low pressure may affect other parts of town. The North Caldwell Water Department is working to re-establish water service as soon as possible.”

The borough later noted that a boil water advisory has been issued, adding that "electrical issues" were complicating the repairs.

According to town officials:

"The North Caldwell Water Department is providing notification that a water main break and subsequent electrical issues on the Passaic Valley Water Commission system has caused customers within portions of our service to be without water or experience a significant loss of pressure. A potential or actual threat to the quality of water being provided to you currently exists. As a precaution, we are implementing a Limited Boil Water Advisory until testing of the water supply is deemed satisfactory."

"Effective immediately and until further notice, customers within the impacted service area are instructed to bring tap water to a rolling boil for one minute and allow the tap water to cool before using, or use bottled water," officials said.

"Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking; preparing foods; mixing baby formula, food, juices or drinks; washing vegetables and fruit; cooking; making ice; brushing teeth; and washing dishes until further notice," officials said, adding that boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.

The following measures are also being recommended:

• Throw away uncooked food or beverages or ice cubes made with tap water during the day of the advisory
• Keep boiled water in the refrigerator for drinking
• Do not swallow water while showering or bathing
• Rinse hand-washed dishes with a diluted bleach solution (one tablespoon of household bleach per gallon of tap water) or clean your dishes in a dishwasher using the hot wash cycle and dry cycle
• Do not use home filtering devices in place of boiling or using bottled water; most home water filters will not provide adequate protection from microorganisms
• Use only boiled water to treat minor injuries
• Provide pets with drinking water that has been boiled (and cooled)

"Please continue to boil your water or use bottled water until you are notified that the water quality is satisfactory," North Caldwell officials said. "This advisory will remain in effect until repairs are completed and testing shows the water quality to be safe."

For more information, contact 973-228-6410, ext. 132.

North Caldwell officials issued another update at 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday, noting that all residents should conserve water until further notice. That includes turning off lawn sprinklers and limiting non-essential water use.

Officials continued:

"The ongoing water disruption in the Borough is the result of a series of system failures at the Passaic Valley Water Commission in which a pipe at their treatment facility broke and flooded certain electronic equipment. This event has disrupted the water supply to residents on the Hilltop System (Arbor Road, Courter Lane, Glenview Road, Ferndale Road, Four Seasons Drive, Harvest Lane, Hill Street, Hilltop Drive and Sagamore Drive.) The Borough immediately implemented emergency water service to the Hilltop System through an emergency connection with the North Caldwell System until Passaic Valley Water Commission can restore their facilities. Until such time, the North Caldwell System is supplying water to both systems. For this reason, your efforts to conserve water are greatly appreciated."

"The Passaic Valley Water Commission continues to work on repairs to their control system in an effort to fully restore their system," North Caldwell officials said.

THURDAY RECAP

The North Caldwell Water Department flushed and tested the Hilltop Water System on Thursday morning, noting that pressure may be low and water may be discolored. Pressure has since been restored, authorities said.

Meanwhile, all North Caldwell residents were asked to conserve water, officials said.

"Until satisfactory results are received, the boil water advisory remains in effect for Hilltop Water System customers only," officials said, referring residents to earlier alerts for more information.
A limited quantity of bottled water was available on a first-come, first-served basis for Hilltop Water System customers on Thursday and Friday.

• Thursday, Aug. 10 from 7 to 8 p.m. at North Caldwell Fire Department
• Friday, Aug. 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Borough Hall

FRIDAY UPDATE

A boil water advisory was still in place for residents serviced by the North Caldwell Hilltop Water System, borough officials announced at 4:32 p.m. on Friday.

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