It is now safe for most Monmouth County residents to drink tap water from their homes.
New Jersey American Water has announced shortly after July 1, that it has lifted the boil water restriction for 18 of 22 Monmouth County towns.
The following towns are no longer under the boil water restriction:
• Allenhurst Borough
• Deal Borough
• Eatontown Borough
• Fair Haven Borough
• Lake Como Borough
• Little Silver Borough
• Loch Arbor Village
• Long Branch City
• Monmouth Beach Borough
• Neptune Township
• Ocean Township
• Oceanport Borough
• Rumson Borough
• Sea Bright Borough
• Shrewsbury Borough
• Shrewsbury Township
• Tinton Falls Borough
• West Long Branch Borough
The four towns still under the boil water restriction are:
• Aberdeen Township
• Highlands Borough
• Holmdel Township
• Middletown Township.
Until further notice, customers in these four municipalities should bring tap water to a rolling boil for one minute and allow to cool before using for consumption; drinking, ice cubes, washing vegetables and fruit, and for brushing teeth.
"New Jersey American Water will continue working diligently around the clock in order to resolve the need to boil water in these four municipalities, and will ensure that bottled water is available to them," a release from New Jersey American Water stated in a release.
For towns where the boil water restriction has been lifted, customers are encouraged to:
• Run all cold water faucets in your home for one minute at one time at the highest flow rate that you can without causing splashing or flooding of drains.
• To flush automatic ice makers, make three batches of ice and discard.
• Run water softeners through a regeneration cycle. Follow the manufacturer’s guidelines specified in the owner’s manual.
• Run drinking water fountains for one minute at the highest flow rate possible.
New Jersey American Water also recommends the following steps for customers in Aberdeen, Highlands, Holmdel and Middletown:
• Throw away uncooked food or beverages or ice cubes if made with tap water during the day of the advisory;
• Keep boiled water in the refrigerator for drinking;
• Rinse hand-washed dishes for a minute in diluted bleach (one tablespoon of household bleach per gallon of tap water) or clean your dishes in a dishwasher using the hot wash cycle and dry cycle.
• Do not swallow water while you are showering or bathing;
• Provide pets with boiled water after cooling;
• Do not use home filtering devices in place of boiling or using bottled water; most home water filters will not provide adequate protection from microorganisms;
• Use only boiled water to treat minor injuries.
A at around 12:45 p.m. Friday at Swimming River Reservoir causing water outages in parts of Monmouth County and affecting the residents of several towns directly. The collapse occurred at NJAW's Swimming River Water Treatment Plant in Tinton Falls.
Tinton Falls Mayor Michael Skudera said the mandatory water restrictions are still in place until further notice.
"Please continue to refrain from using water outside and please limit your indoor water use," Mayor Skudera said in a release.
New Jersey American Water Vice President of Operations Stephen Schmitt thanked customers for their conservation efforts but urged them to continue.
“Water pressure in the system is stabilizing right now, so it is critical that everyone stop all outdoor water use including watering lawns, shrubs or gardens, filling swimming pools, or washing cars,” Schmitt said in a release. “In fact, under the county’s declared water emergency, outdoor water use in Monmouth County is illegal right now, and for good reason.”
