Miami Beach area under precautionary boil water alert after main break

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A water main break in Miami Beach caused pressure to drop and forced officials to issue a precautionary boil water alert Friday for a large swath of the tourism hotspot in Florida.

A private contractor hit a water main late Thursday in the South Beach section of the city, causing the break.

City officials were advising residents and tourists to use bottled water or to boil tap water for one minute before using for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth or washing dishes.

The precautionary boil water notice will be in place until drinking water test results pass inspection for two consecutive days, Miami Beach officials said in a news release.

Miami Beach had 217 hotels with 21,000 rooms, making up more than a third of the inventory in Miami-Dade County, as of last December, according to the Greater Miami Convention and Business Bureau.