Atlantic City’s advisory for residents to boil water has been lifted

Atlantic City residents no longer need to boil water before drinking it, city officials declared in a news conference Sunday afternoon, after state-supervised testing determined that excessive cloudiness in the municipal water supply had dissipated, along with any risk of health problems.

“It came back that all is free and clear,” Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small said at about 4 p.m., shortly after receiving the results. “I would like to thank the residents for being patient and understanding that things do happen.”

Early Friday, the Atlantic City Municipal Utility Authority’s routine testing of the water found turbidity levels, or cloudiness caused by particles, 1.5 times greater than the acceptable limit — indicating increased risk of disease-causing bacteria, viruses, or parasites. The most common symptoms of such contamination are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps, and headaches.

Residents were told Friday to boil all water used for drinking, making ice, preparing food, washing dishes, or brushing teeth for at least one minute before letting it cool. Boiling kills the bugs.

Cliff Keen, deputy operations director of the ACMUA, a private utility, said Sunday the turbidity was caused when iron sludge from settling basins was pumped back into the water plant, overwhelming filters.

“Water from the incident did not go to any of our customers and our customers were in no real danger,” Keen said, characterizing the boil-water advisory as a precaution by state regulators at the Department of Environmental Protection.

The water utility advised people to run their faucets for three to five minutes to flush out discoloration in service lines, and to empty and clean ice makers and water chillers. Hot water heaters should be drained and refilled if they are below 113 degrees Fahrenheit, officials said. Anything with a softener or cartridge filter should be drained and refilled as well, they said.

Five hundred cases of bottled water were being made available to Atlantic City residents.

Small on Saturday instructed people who who live in the city’s Uptown area to pick up water bottles at a fire station at Maryland and Atlantic Avenues, and residents of the city’s Downtown area to head to a fire station at California and Atlantic Avenues.