BOIL ADVISORY

WHAT IS A BOIL WATER ORDER? A boil water order is when a threat to public health has been confirmed to exist, or is likely to exist, that boiling the water will remedy. The public water system is then required to notify consumers as soon as possible, and by the most effective methods, of the need to boil their drinking water.

WHAT IS A BOIL ADVISORY? A public water system may issue a precautionary boil water advisory when conditions were present for a potential problem with the drinking water, but a problem has not been confirmed. These are most commonly issued for water main breaks or other low-pressure events where water loss was not controlled and the possibility of contamination intrusion exists. They may also be issued while waiting for results of confirmation samples collected for bacteriological analysis, which can take up to two days plus the time required to transport samples to the laboratory.