SAN DIEGO — During a press briefing Friday, San Diego County officials updated the public regarding an ongoing boil water advisory affecting Coronado’s Silver Strand and surrounding areas.

The advisory impacts customers of the utility company, California America Water, including portions of Imperial Beach and Chula Vista.

The advisory went into effect Thursday after E. coli bacteria was detected in the drinking water system. Since then, residents in affected areas have been urged to either boil their water before using it or use bottled water.

San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Nora Vargas says the county has been working closely with the state, the water agency and other local agencies in response to this situation.

“I wanted to make sure I emphasize that our county emergency operations have been activated and is setting up coordination events with all the city managers,” Vargas stated.

She says impacted businesses will have an opportunity to complete a survey to detail impacts with officials, who will be following-up with any support that they may need.

As far as a timeline for how long this water boil advisory may last, there are several steps that must be completed before things get back on track.

“California American is conducting an investigation to determine the cause of the contamination. Once the source is identified and repaired, the water system will need to be flushed and then two rounds or cleaning samples are needed before we can actually lift the advisory,” said Vargas.

The system has 17,219 service connections impacting approximately 106,000 people. As it stands, the cause of the E. coli contamination is unknown at this time.

“It is critical for us to receive accurate and timely information from California American and the state water board so that we can share it with our communities,” Vargas continued.

The county supervisor says she has requested exactly that from the state as this situation is greatly impacting the region’s businesses, schools, healthcare facilities and more.

“I’m asking that the public and communities please follow the CDC guidelines for the water boil notice,” said Vargas.

More on what to do during a boil advisory can be found here.

For those in affected areas, California American has a water pickup location at their operation center in Imperial Beach, which is located at 1025 Palm Ave. They are currently working on setting up other distribution locations.