Hillsborough County residents asked to reduce water usage as water management systems are assessed

Hillsborough County Water Resources is asking residents to reduce their water usage as they assess all water and wastewater systems following Hurricane Milton.

Because widespread power outages continue to impact regional water pumping, the public is asked to limit water usage to “essential needs”.

In addition to limiting drinking water usage, residents have also been asked to reduce wastewater-producing activities including showering, washing clothes, and flushing toilets in order to prevent sewer overflows and backups into homes.

Hillsborough County has provided the following water safety tips:

Disinfect and purify water for drinking. 

• Boiling water: If residents need to purify water, they should bring it to a rolling boil for at least one minute to kill most pathogens. 
• Bleach treatment: For additional purification, add unscented liquid household chlorine bleach. Use 1/8 teaspoon (about 8 drops) per gallon of water, stir, and let it sit for 30 minutes before drinking. 
• Water purification tablets: Consider having these on hand as an alternative to bleach for quick and easy water purification.

Keep stormwater and wastewater separate.

• Residents should not open the sanitary sewer cleanout to drain their lawns during flooding because it lets stormwater into the sewage system. This can overwhelm the sewer system, causing backups, and potentially leading to untreated sewage spilling into homes, streets, and waterways. It also increases the risk of contamination and can lead to environmental and public health hazards.

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