The City of West Palm Beach, which provides drinking water to Palm Beach customers, issued an advisory Thursday evening about high turbidity levels detected in its water supply.
“During regular and routine testing, recent samples collected from West Palm Beach’s water treatment process exceeded compliance for turbidity (cloudiness) units,” the city said in the email notice.
Turbidity does not cause health effects, the city said. But it said anyone with a compromised immune system, or who is elderly, pregnant, or has an infant, “may be at increased risk and should seek advice from your healthcare providers about drinking this water.”
The city said this year’s dry season and late seasonal rains resulted in elevated turbidity levels within the city’s lake system.
“The elevated turbidity has challenged the treatment process, resulting in turbidity levels exceeding the EPA Treatment Technique Standard during July 2024,” it said.
Customers do not need to boil water or take any other corrective action, the city said.
“You would be notified if the water is not safe to drink,” the city said.
The city on July 5 began its annual chlorine disinfectant flush of its water treatment plant and drinking water systems. During the process, the city switches its disinfectant from chloramines to free chlorine to maintain high quality drinking water, it said.
Water customers may notice a slight chlorine taste or odor during the period, which ends on Monday, July 29, the city said.
Resources
WPB Public Notifications: Important information about your drinking water
EPA: National Primary Drinking Water Regulations
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