Camden, New Jersey, woman relying on bottled water amid boil water advisory after blizzard
The boil water advisory in Camden was lifted on Wednesday, and the water is safe to drink, officials from American Water Contract Services said.
For the past two days, Karrie Davis has been cleaning up after she said several inches of dirty water filled her basement when a 22-inch water main broke right outside her home in Camden, New Jersey.
"I'm just slowly going around, pulling up stuff and drying out my basement, so I don't get mold," Davis said. "I had to call the fire department to unplug my appliances downstairs because I didn't want to do it and possibly get shocked or anything."
Davis considers herself lucky. She said more than a foot of water flooded her neighbor's basement.
The main ruptured Sunday at Ninth and Jefferson streets, forcing public works crews to make emergency repairs in blizzard-like conditions.
"What caused it was just weather, the expanding and contraction over the last five weeks, with the inclement weather," said Keith Walker, who is the director of Public Works for the City of Camden.
Repairs have been completed, but now the city says around 3,700 American Water customers are under a boil water advisory. This includes customers with homes south of Ferry Avenue through Collings Road, which includes Fairview, Morgan Village, Centerville and a portion of Waterfront South.
As the city flushes the system, impacted customers are being told not to drink the water, wash dishes, prepare food, or brush your teeth without boiling the water or using bottled water.
"Any water, ice, anything that you may have made food dealing with water, do not use that — that was happening that day," Mayor Victor Carstarphen said.
Davis has a water filtration system and said her water is still murky. For the time being, she's relying on bottled water and is thankful the damage to her basement was minimal.
"I'm the fourth generation to live here, and I redid my house, so it's a little nerve-wracking thinking it could be damaged," Davis said.
Carstarphen said the advisory will remain in effect until tests come back showing the water is safe, which could take 48-72 hours.
Meanwhile, the city is offering free bottled water at the Office of Emergency Management.
Camden residents can report concerns and information to the City's Office of Emergency Management at 856-757-7132/856-757-7139 or publicworks@camdennj.gov.
