What is a boil advisory?
A boil water advisory is a public notification advising customers to boil tap water before consuming it. Advisories are issued when an event has occurred with the potential to adversely affect water quality, or a situation has occurred where there is known degradation of the water quality.
Precautionary advisories are issued when the water system experiences a loss in positive water pressure, typically due to a serious main break or low-storage tank levels. A loss of positive water pressure indicates the existence of conditions that could allow contamination to enter the distribution system. This advisory is issued as a precaution until water samples are collected and analyzed to confirm that water quality has not been affected. We allow 48 hours to test samples to ensure water quality.
Citizens should boil their tap water until the boil advisory ends after 48 hours. Tap water is connected to systems in your home such as sinks, toilets, showers/baths, refrigerators, and washing machines. While some activities (i.e., handwashing, laundry) can still be performed during a boil advisory, it is imperative that households do not ingest tap water without boiling it. See the CDC's recommendations for how to use tap water during an advisory on their website: CDC - Boil Water Advisory.
Contact the Public Works Department at 660.627.1291 for more information.