The City of Poway and its community response team will continue providing bottled water to residents after the city issued its first ever boil water advisory on Saturday.
The city set up a pickup location at Lake Poway located at 14644 Lake Poway Road and started handing out cases of water by 7 a.m. Sunday to those who showed identification.
“With the number of people that have come to get the water we are down to one case per car and we also put in an order for more trucks to come in to bring in more water,” said Jessica Parks, Public Information Officer for the City of Poway.
Bottled water distribution will continue at the Lake Poway location from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday. A second water distribution site, located at Poway City Hall, will begin Monday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Poway issued the boil water advisory after residents reported "discolored water" coming from the taps on Friday, the city said.
"Due to the recent storm event it is believed that the potable drinking water system has possibly been compromised," the notice said.
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The boil water advisory means that only boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and making food until further notice.
For residents who did not receive the notice for the boil water advisory, the city said they can sign up on the their website to receive alerts. Parks also advised residents to sign up for Alert San Diego.
By Sunday morning, officials said they had isolated the area affected by the rain water from the recent storms and have sent samples to the lab.
Mayor Steve Vaus said, "Actually the water is well within our standards for drinking. I’m still drinkin’ it, but the State, they’re a little more skittish. Sacramento works in strange ways, so we’re giving out water to make sure our folks are taken care of.”
“We are hoping to get back those tests results as soon as possible, it is up to the lab to do that testing and go through the procedures to then get us the data,” Parks said.
Poway Unified School District reassured parents that schools will remain open on Monday and are taking the necessary steps to ensure student safety.
By 8 a.m. Sunday, the city had handed out more than 900 cases of water. It is taking people an average of 45 minutes to get to the front of the line.
Poway Mayor Steve Vaus was also there to help hand out the water to residents.
"We will do the water hand out all day today until we run out of supplies," Parker said.
For more information on what to do during a boil water advisory, read the document below provided by the City of Poway.
