Health Advisories and Other Guidance

Boil Water Notice: 

Water for drinking or other human consumption should be boiled and cooled prior to use. All water, including water from a RO system, should be brought to a vigorous rolling boil and then boiled for two minutes.

Tips for boiling water:

• Fill a pot with water.
• Heat the water until bubbles come from the bottom of the pot to the top.
• Once the water reaches a rolling boil, let it boil for 2 minutes.
• Turn off the heat source and let the water cool.
• Pour the water into a clean container with a cover for storage.

Suggestions for different types of water use:

• Preparing and cooking food
  • Wash all fruits and vegetables with boiled water that has cooled or with bottled water.
  • Bring water to a rolling boil for 2 minutes before adding food to cook.
  • Use boiled water when preparing drinks, such as coffee, tea, and lemonade.
  • Wash food preparation surfaces with boiled water.
• Feeding babies and using formula
  • Use ready-to-use baby formula, if possible.
  • Prepare powdered or concentrated baby formula with bottled water. Use boiled water if you do not have bottled water. Disinfect water for baby formula if you cannot boil your water.
  • Wash and sterilize bottles and nipples before use.
  • If you cannot sterilize bottles, try to use single-serve, ready-to-feed bottles.
• Ice making
  • Do not use ice from ice trays, ice dispensers, or ice makers.
  • Throw out all ice made with tap water.
  • Make new ice with boiled or bottled water.
• Bathing and showering
  • Be careful not to swallow any water when bathing or showering.
  • Use caution when bathing babies and young children. Consider giving them a sponge bath to reduce the chance of them swallowing water.
• Brushing teeth
  • Brush teeth with boiled or bottled water. Do not use untreated tap water.
• Washing dishes
  • Household dishwashers generally are safe to use if the water reaches a final rinse temperature of at least 150 degrees or if the dishwasher has a sanitizing cycle.
• To wash dishes by hand:
  • Wash and rinse the dishes as you normally would using hot water.
  • In a separate basin, add 1 teaspoon of unscented household liquid
  • bleach for each gallon of warm water.
  • Soak the rinsed dishes in the water for at least one minute.
  • Let the dishes air dry completely.
• Laundry
  • It is safe to do laundry as usual.
• Pets
  • Pets can get some of the same diseases as people. It is a good idea to give them boiled water that has been cooled too.
• Water filters
  • Boil tap water even if it is filtered. Most kitchen and other household water filters typically do not remove bacteria or viruses.

Additional Information Links:

https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/emergency/drinking/drinking-water-advisories/boil-water-advisory.html