Boil-water order set for Longboat neighborhood

The town of Longboat Key is working to repair a water main break in Country Club Shores this evening, and a segment of the neighborhood is without water service.

Town Manager Tom Harmer said the water main break is on Bogey Lane.

“I believe it was a six-inch water line that was hit by the undergrounding crew the was working in the neighborhood,” Harmer said. “They’re still actively on scene. There’s a repair crew on scene. They’ve got — at least for now — the leak secured, but they’ll still have to evaluate what repairs are needed and how extensive that’ll be.”

Harmer said the undergrounding crews were “doing an underground bore along Bogey [Lane] and it struck the waterline.”

According to a Tuesday afternoon Facebook post from the town, residents in the area of Country Club Shores from Putting Green Lane to Halyard Lane may experience little to no water pressure because of the water main break.

Harmer said the town did not know how long residents in those areas would be affected.

The town has issued an emergency boil-water notice for the residents affected by the water outage. The boil-water notice will remain in effect until lab tests have confirmed the water is safe to drink. 

Residents are advised to boil water used for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth or washing dishes. A boil of one minute is sufficient. Residents can also use bottled water.

Town staff will provide notification when test results indicate lifting the boil-water status and when residents may resume normal water usage.

Harmer said the town has also sent out an emergency notification to neighbors.

“We have the ability with our system to identify an area and send information specifically to the residents in that area,” Harmer said. “We've also talked to representatives of the neighborhood here, and they using other social media like Nextdoor, sending out information to let everyone know what's going on.”

Almost 20 crew members from Wilco Electrical LLC, the town's contractor on its $49.1 million underground utilities project, were on the scene, along with more than a dozen town Public Works Department workers.

“Our teams are working diligently to perform necessary repairs,” the town's Facebook post reads. “However, water service will be out for an [undetermined] amount of time. If a boil water notice needs to go into effect, signs will be placed along the neighborhood streets in addition to door hangers. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding if you are in the impacted area.”

About 14 trucks and pumping trailers from Wilco and the town are also on the scene.

Anyone with questions after normal business hours can contact the town of Longboat Key at 941-316-1977. Residents can also contact Public Works at 941-316-1988 during normal business hours.