UPDATE 11:55 p.m. 12/21: Pinellas County officials confirm the precautionary boil order for parts of the area has been rescinded, effectively immediately.
As of 11:55 p.m. Monday night, normal water use may resume in the St. Pete Beach and Tierra Verde areas.
| ORIGINAL COVERAGE |
A precautionary boil water notice remains in effect for St. Pete Beach and Tierra Verde. Pinellas County Utilities says that 6,000 customers are affected by low or no water pressure.
While utility crews say because a 16-inch water pipe at the intersection of 75th Ave and Blind Pass Road developed a leak, they are issuing the boil water notice to residents to insure safe drinking.
The precautionary boil water notice will be issued for a minimum of 48 hours or until satisfactory analytical results confirm the water is safe to drink.
Residents in Tierra Verde and St. Pete Beach should boil water used for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth and washing dishes.
Billy's Stone Crab Restaurant in Tierra Verde is among the business impacted by the water outage. It had to shut off dinner service at 6 p.m. Saturday, only leaving the bar area open.
"You know it's pretty slow this time of year, and it's not that big of a deal. It's just that nobody's got anywhere else to go. So I feel bad about that," said owner Edward Medley.
Joseph Sand just arrived in St. Pete Beach to visit family for the holidays. When he checked into his hotel, he discovered there was no water for drinking or to take a shower. He was forced to buy bottled water to get by.
"Not the way I wanted to start my vacation, but I'll try to make due. Just got to do what you've got to do," Sand said.
Customer experiencing water pressure issues are to call (727) 464-5809.
Contractors started pulling up pavement at the leak site Monday evening to begin repair work on the piping. Temporary water lines are in place to provide water service to everyone as that work is being done. The county hopes that all the repairs are done, full pressure restored, and the boil order lifted by Thursday.
