A boil water order issued last Friday for the city of Benton Harbor has been lifted. The city has released the following:
The City of Benton Harbor residents were informed of a precautionary boil water advisory beginning Thursday, November 5 and received an update on Friday, November 6. Since that time, extensive flushing and sampling has occurred to clean out the system of possible contamination.
As of 5:00 PM Tuesday, November 10th all water samples confirm the water does not have bacteria and residents no longer need to follow previous instructions on boiling the drinking water.
Special notice on lead:
The City of Benton Harbor continues to be under an Action Level Exceedance for lead in drinking water. Residents are advised to continue using a water filter certified to remove lead from the water, or flush their pipes for five minutes to reduce the amount of lead in their drinking water. The Berrien County Health Department continues to provide water filters and replacement cartridges to City residents, free of charge.
Now that the boil water advisory is lifted, it is recommended that City water customers using a water filter replace the filter cartridge. The Berrien County Health Department will provide City residents a replacement water cartridge free of charge. Residents can obtain a filter or replacement cartridge by:
1. Visiting the Berrien County Health Department Benton Harbor office at 2149 E. Napier Ave., Monday-Friday from 8:30am-5pm.
2. Calling the Berrien County Health Department at 1-800-815-5485 Water Response Hotline to request a replacement filter or cartridge be mailed to your home.
3. Visiting the Center for Better Health at 100 W. Main Street, Benton Harbor. The Center is open Monday-Saturday, but hours of operation vary by day. See shlcenterforbetterhealth.org or call 269.408.2258 for updated business hours.
At this time, Residents of the city of Benton Harbor no longer need to boil their water before use. Residents should continue to use a filter certified to remove lead or flush their pipes for 5 minutes before using for drinking, cooking, rinsing food, brushing teeth or mixing powdered infant formula.
For more information, please contact Ellis Mitchell, city manager of Benton Harbor at 269-927-8400 or emitchell@bhcity.us.
