East Dubuque Issues Water Boil Order Until Wednesday

The City of East Dubuque has issued an order to residents to boil their water for drinking, food preparation, dishwashing, and personal hygiene such as brushing teeth.

A post on the City of East Dubuque Facebook page states that the order does not include Frentress Lake.

At a minimum, East Dubuque residents should follow the order through Wednesday, June 29, 2022, until further notice from the City.

According to Public Works Director Mark Fluhr, the boil order will not be lifted until public works officials complete two consecutive negative tests for bacteria in the water supply. Those tests will likely occur on Monday and Tuesday, with test results arriving on Wednesday.

The boil order was initiated as part of a planned action to ongoing improvements to the City's water system. Unfortunately, the improvement and maintenance steps require a system shutdown. Therefore, the water boil order must respond to the system update efforts.

East Dubuque Citizens need not boil water for washing clothes, cars, household cleaning, or taking showers. However, young children should avoid baths or wading pools.

The City of East Dubuque provides the following list for which citizens should boil water:

• Drinking
• Brushing Teeth
• Washing Fruits and Vegetables
• Preparing Food
• Mixing Baby Formula
• Giving Water to Pets
• Making Ice
• Coffee Makers
• Dishwashing by hand -rinse with boiled water

The City Cautions that most kitchen water filters Do Not remove bacteria or viruses.

Use boiled water when giving babies a sponge bath, but be sure the water has cooled.

The City posted a meme on its Facebook page providing the proper way to boil water during a Water Boil Order. It states that one should
1. fill a pot of water.
2. Heat water until bubbles come from the bottom of the pot to the top.
3. Once the water has come to a rolling boil, let it continue for 1 minute.
4. Turn off the heat source and let it cool.
5. Pour water into a clean container, cover it, and store it appropriately.