After a precautionary boil water notice was put into effect Monday, the City of Tampa will be giving out free bottles of water to city residents.

The notice was put into effect after workers punctured a transmission main coming from the David L. Tippin Water Treatment Facility, one of the largest surface water treatment plants in Florida.

As a precaution, residents are encouraged to boil their water before drinking or cooking with it.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said the boil water notice notice would likely last until at least Thursday at a press conference Tuesday.

After the break, the city also placed a ban on irrigation watering in an attempt to preserve water. That ban has since been lifted.

To pick up the water, residents can visit one of four locations Tuesday from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. or Wednesday 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Residents will not be required to show an ID and are limited to one case of water per household, or two cases per household with more than four residents.

The city is also passing out two free face coverings per resident in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Water and masks can be picked up at the following locations:

Himes Ave. Sports Complex 4501 S. Himes Ave.
MacFarlane Park 1700 N. MacDill Ave. (near the basketball courts—turn onto Main St. from MacDill Ave)
Al Barnes Park 2902 N. 32nd St.
New Tampa Community Center 17302 Commerce Park Blvd.

For those drinking water from their homes, the city instructs that the following steps be taken:

Bring the water to a rolling boil and hold it there for one minute. Aerate the boiled water by pouring it from one container to another several times to improve the "flat" taste left by boiling, then refrigerate for best results.
Use bleach if you cannot boil your water. Add eight drops (about 1/8th teaspoon) of bleach for one gallon of tap water, shake, then let stand for 30 minutes before drinking. Use food grade containers and unscented common household bleach that has 5% to 6% active ingredients. If the water is cloudy, use16 drops, about ¼ teaspoon of bleach instead of 8. There should be a slight chlorine odor.
Use water purification tablets or iodine that many sports and camping stores sell.

You can find out more about water boil notices here.

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This article appears in Dec 3-9, 2020.