Nyack Aug 13 — A break in a 16 inch water main last Saturday on North Greenbush Rd in West Nyack was repaired by Sunday, but low water pressure in the system delayed the required testing to make sure drinking water was safe. A Boil Water Alert issued on Saturday afternoon may be in effect through Thursday.

“We apologize to everyone for the inconvenience — but public safety concerns must come first,” said Nyack Mayor Jen White. Because two clean tests of the water supply are required before the alert can be lifted, it may take until Thursday before the Water Department can assure its customers that it is 100% safe to drink from the tap again.

A boil water notice means that users should bring tap water to a rolling boil for one minute and cool before using- or use bottled water certified for sale by the New York State Department of Health.  Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth and preparing food until further notice. Even if you have a filtration system in your home, public health officials still recommend boiling water before drinking, brushing teeth or cooking. The NYS Department of Health provides a FAQ on what to do during a Boil Water Alert at Health.NY.gov.

Nyack determined that an alert should be issued at 3p Saturday afternoon and a “Reverse 911″ call was initiated at 3:18p. Health Department regulations require water suppliers to notify their customers within 48 hours of an alert being issued. On Saturday, village parking employees hand distributed flyers to all of the downtown bars and restaurants informing them of the alert.

Here’s the Mon 10a update from the Village of Nyack Water Department:

Nyack’s boil water alert remains in effect today for all Nyack Water customers. Water testing began this morning(August 13) as required by the Rockland County Board of Health. Testing could not begin until this morning because the system water levels were too low. The Rockland County Board of Health requires two sets of clean samples from the system prior to cancellation of the alert. Each sample must be tested with results recorded twenty four hours and forty eight hours after the sample is drawn. Because of this process, the boil water alert will not be lifted before Thursday August 16, 2012 at the earliest. The areas affected include Nyack, South Nyack, Central Nyack and a small Nyack Water Department portion of West Nyack.

If you are a Nyack Water Department customer and you didn’t get a phone call or an email, blame Harold Greene — the judge who broke up AT&T in 1982. The same business transformation that lowered everyone’s phone bills also made it much more difficult to determine all of the phone numbers assigned to a geography. If you didn’t get a Reverse 911 call, you can add your phone number and email online at Users.NYAlert.gov. To add your email to the Village of Nyack’s notification list, visit Village of Nyack — email notifications.