Tulane University and residents of Uptown were placed under a boil water advisory Saturday night by the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans after a sinkhole on Panola Street near Carrollton Avenue burst, trapping a car and flooding nearby streets. No one was injured.
SWB has not identified a cause of the break, but it comes as the city faces freezing temperatures. A similar break occurred in the same area several years ago.
When water pressure drops below 20 PSI, groundwater can leak through cracks in pipes, potentially contaminating the water supply.
“Residents in the affected area should not drink, make ice, brush teeth, prepare or rinse food with tap water unless it has been properly disinfected until further notice,” Tulane University Housing and Residence Life said in an email.
Starting Sunday, the university is distributing water bottles to each 24-hour desk; each student is entitled to two bottles a day. Water is also available at the Malkin Sacks Commons, the Lavin Bernick Center for Student Life and the Reily Student Recreation Center.
SWB has not released a timeline for restoring normal service. As of Sunday morning, crews were working in the area of the break and flooding had subsided.
Once the advisory ends, taps should be run for five minutes to flush any potentially contaminated water.