Crawfordville – If your private well has been covered with flood water, or if flood water has come up to your well casing because of Tropical Storm Debby, the Wakulla County Health Department advises you to take precautions against contaminated water.

Your water may contain disease-causing organisms and may not be safe to drink.

The Wakulla County Health Department recommends you take one of the following actions:

Boil water before use, holding it at a rolling boil for at least one minute before using it for drinking, washing, cooking, etc.; or

Disinfect water by adding 8 drops (about 1/8 tsp – this would form a puddle about the size of a dime) of plain unscented household bleach (4 to 6%) per gallon of water, and then let it stand for 30 minutes.  If the water is cloudy after 30 minutes, repeat the procedure.  Use a container that has a cap or cover for disinfecting and storing water to be used for drinking.  This will prevent contamination; or

Use bottled water, especially for mixing baby formula.

After the flooding subsides:

Disinfect your well using the procedures available from the Wakulla County Health Department or provided on the Department of Health’s website at http://www.doh.state.fl.us/environment/water/manual/floodinf.htm; and

After you have disinfected your well, have your water tested by the Wakulla County Health Department or by a laboratory certified by the State to perform a drinking water analysis for coliform bacteria.

For further information, please call the Wakulla County Health Department Environmental Health Division, at 850-926-0400, or visit www.doh.state.fl.us or www.FloridaDisaster.org.

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