What is a Boil Water Advisory?

Boil Water Advisories are when the water utility or water provider requires that a specific area boils all of their tap water before drinking or cooking.

In the U.S. alone this affects an unknown number of millions of people every year.

There are multiple boil water advisories every day. Don’t believe us? Just search in Google News.

Many Boil Water Advisories are just a false alarm, caused by a broken pipe or a software glitch.
It’s estimated that there are 240,000 water main breaks in the U.S. every year. That’s one every two minutes!

Sometimes there can be E. coli or other harmful contaminants, but it can take 24 – 48 hours for residents to be notified.

And another 48 hours or more to lift the boil water advisory, even if it’s a false alarm!

Here are some tips if your water is under a boil water advisory.

Make sure to bring water for drinking or cooking to a rolling boil for 1 minute.

Don’t use ice from ice trays or ice dispensers.

Don’t brush your teeth with tap water or give any to your pets.

Mix all baby formula, and wash all fruits and vegetables with boiled or bottled water.

If you have a water filter it probably doesn’t remove bacteria, so don’t trust it.

After the boil water advisory is lifted, make sure to flush your faucets, filters, and ice dispensers until you feel a temperature change in the water.

Follow updates from your local authorities and visit us at www.boilwaterwatch.org to keep track of your Boil Water Advisory in real-time.

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