Crews working to restore water to 82,000 in Central Brevard

More than 82,000 remain without water in Central Brevard County today as Cocoa Utilities Department employees scrambled Monday to fix breaches in the city's water system.

"It's starting to come back, but there's no guarantees," said an exhausted Cocoa City Manager John Titkanich, having been up all night monitoring the storm at City Hall.

It could take one to two days before running water is restored, and three to five days before water is safe to drink, Titkanich said Monday afternoon. "Boil your water until the city says 'don't boil your water,'" he said.

City officials first noticed a drop in water pressure at about 4:30 a.m. Monday.

Water gushed from a pipe in a collapsed section of Indian River Drive and Sunset Terrace in Cocoa Monday, where police monitored a cordoned-off the area.

At U.S. 1 and Gus Hipp Boulevard, a similar cave-in occurred. Water bubbled up from a nearby ditch and deep water swamped the southbound lane of U.S. 1. 

City officials say they are "working as quickly as possible to get all of our customers back up and running. Cocoa's system supplies water to the city and to Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, Merritt Island, Port St. John, Rockledge, Suntree and Viera, as well as Kennedy Space Center, Patrick Air Force Base and Port Canaveral.

As water service returns, city officials warned that the city's service area will remain under a precautionary boil water notice.

Water problems are because of either a single major break or multiple smaller breaks, city officials said.

"You're closing up holes in the system," Titkanich said, adding that water pressure will gradually return as the water main breaks are repaired.

Crews are working with other agencies to assess, identify and repair breaks, according to a notice on the city's website.

More:Hurricane Irma aftermath: What we know now about damage, flooding, outages in Brevard County

More:Brevard causeways reopened after safety inspections

The city issued a boil water notice early Monday that will remain in effect for at least two days, or until the problem has been resolved and a bacterial tests show the water is safe to drink. The water has to test clean for two consecutive days before the advisory is lifted, city officials said.

Water customers are urged to notify utility officials of any significant utility damage or leaks in their area, take a photo and forward them, along with the address or cross streets to the city of Cocoa to help speed up identifying the major cause for the system failure.

Photos and/or addresses can be e-mailed to ssenger@cocoafl.org, or sent to the city of Cocoa's Facebook or Twitter pages.

Under the boil advisory, all water used for consumption — including drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth and washing dishes —  should be boiled. A rolling boil of one minute is sufficient.

As an alternative, bottled water may be used.

The boil-water notice will remain in effect for at least two days after repairs have been made. A bacteriological survey will be performed to make sure water is in compliance with Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Health regulations. 

The water is safe for bathing, laundering, and other non-consumptive uses.

Customers should conserve water until further notice. Expect low pressure through the system. 

If power is not available to boil water, residents and businesses can disinfect water by adding eight drops of unscented household bleach (4 percent to 6 percent active ingredients) to each gallon of water, then mixing the water and allowing it to stand for at least 30 minutes.

Cloudy water requires 16 drops of bleach and a 30-minute contact time. Also, other approved chemical disinfectants are available at stores that sell camping and hiking supplies.

Contact Waymer at 321-242-3663 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com Follow him on Twitter@JWayEnviro and at facebook.com/jim.waymer. Dave Berman contributed to this story.

Residents who need help with cleanup following Hurricane Irma can call 1-800-451-1954 to register requests.

Reputable relief agencies may offer free services such as tarping roofs, cutting trees, clearing debris and mucking out. Calling the hotline does not guarantee services as they are based on what resources are available. The hotline is provided by Crisis Cleanup and has been coordinated by Florida and Brevard Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster and the Brevard Long Term Recovery Coalition.

Information about other post-hurricane assistance will be provided by the Community Information Hotline, which can be reached by dialing 2-1-1. It is a partnership of Brevard County Emergency Management and 2-1-1 Brevard.

People who want to volunteer after Irma should register at the United Way of Brevard website, uwbrevard.org.