UPDATE: The notice has been lifted
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A portion of Northwest Tyler remain under a boil water notice which was issued Friday due to water disinfectant levels below the minimum set by the Texas Commission on Environmental Equality.
According to city officials, the notice includes 400 residential water customers and an unknown number of commercial customers.
Customers within the area bounded by Claude Street to the north, West Houston Street to the south, Vine Avenue to the east and South Peach Avenue to the west should boil their water prior to consumption until the notice is rescinded.
"The biggest misconception is that the water is not safe to use," said Lisa Crossman, director of utilities for the city. "It is safe to use for instances that are not for consumption."
"We've had crews out 24 hours per day since Friday flushing the system to get water moving through the system in an attempt to get residuals up above minimum level," she said.
In an effort to speed up the process, The city will also begin a chlorine conversion -- changing the water disinfectant from chloramines to chlorine for the next month.
"The chlorine conversion is a city-wide process," said Crossman. "Some people may experience higher taste or odor associated with chlorine, but it's still perfectly safe to use."
On Monday, the city distributed bottled water to those affected by the boil order. They plan to continue distribution until consumption is safe once again.
Cases of bottled water are also available in the lobby of the Tyler Police Department, 711 W Ferguson Street.
"We don't have a firm answer for when the boil notice will be lifted," said Crossman.
The age of the water distribution system could be a contributing factor to lower disinfectant residuals, according to Crossman.
"We are partnering with a third party consultant," she said. "They're going to come in and help us evaluate this issue and make sure we're on the right track in making recommendations for what we can do to the distribution system to hopefully prevent these issues in the future."
Click here for more information on the boil water notice.