FLORIDA TODAY staff

Some beachside residents spent a frustrating night Tuesday dealing with low, or in some cases non-existent, water pressure after a traffic accident earlier in the day.

Residents from Pineda Causeway to the Eau Gallie Causeway were alerted in many cases by an automated phone-alert system of a boil-water notice in their area until Friday.

That was, if they had any water to boil.

"I was swimming in my pool just now at 9 at night, and five people came down to my pool to obtain buckets of water so they could flush their toilets,'' said Andrea Kern, 25, who lives in a Satellite Beach apartment complex. "I can't even wash my hands right now. There's nothing."

Melbourne City Manager Michael McNees said a city water main became dislodged while crews were performing repairs after a car struck a fire hydrant in Satellite Beach around 3 p.m. Tuesday.

That led to a drastic drop in pressure and a run on bottled water at some stores, residents told FLORIDA TODAY.

Officials recommended that all water used for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth, or washing dishes, be boiled. A rolling boil of one minute is sufficient.

A city statement said repairs were ongoing Tuesday night but that the boil-alert would continue until at least Friday. A bacteriological survey is required to show that the water is safe.

Contact the city of Melbourne Public Works & Utilities office at (321) 608-5000, or the after-hours emergency number of (321) 255-4622.