What is a Boil Water Advisory: Guidelines to Protect Yourself

Most westerners who benefit from modern infrastructure usually consider the thought of water contamination to be a problem of the developing world.

However, there are instances where the water supply in a highly modernized city may become contaminated. Floods, broken water mains, and industrial accidents all have the potential to contaminate a clean water supply, putting the city's residents at risk.

If you've never heard of a boil water advisory, you may be one of the few lucky ones. But if a boil water advisory is issued in your city, it would be wise to know what to do ahead of time.

In this article, we'll discuss what a boil water advisory is as well as what to do if one is issued.

During a boil water advisory, there are certain precautions and measures you will have to take to ensure that the you use the water safely.  To make the water safe for ingestion, you can either boil or disinfect it.

Water Filters

Make sure to boil water even if it is filtered as most domestic water filters do not remove bacteria and viruses.

Cooking

• Only use cool boiled water or bottled water to wash your fruits and vegetables, and to prepare drinks
• Bring the water to a rolling boil for 1 minute before adding your food to cook
• Make sure to wash your food preparation surfaces with boiled water

• Prepare powdered or concentrated baby formula (ready-to-use, if possible) with bottled water. You may use boiled water or disinfected water as an alternative.
• Wash and sterilize the bottle and nipples before use, or try to use single-serve, ready-to-feed bottles

Ice

• Don’t use ice from ice trays, ice dispensers, or ice makers
• Throw out all ice made with tap water and make new ice with boiled or bottled water

Bathing

• Make sure to not swallow any water when bathing
• You may give babies and young children a sponge bath to reduce the chances of them swallowing water

Washing Dishes

A dishwasher is generally safe to use if the water reaches a final rinse temperature of at least 150 degrees or if the dishwasher has a sanitizing cycle. You may alternatively wash by hand using these steps

• Wash and rinse the dishes using hot water
• Add 1 teaspoon of unscented household liquid bleach for each gallon of warm water into a separate basin
• Soak the rinsed dishes in the basin for at least 1 minute, then let the dishes air dry

To sanitize your containers before using them to store water, follow these steps:

1. Make a sanitizing solution with 1 teaspoon of unscented household liquid bleach that does not have an added scent (like lemon) in 1 quart of water
2. Pour the solution into a clean storage container and shake well. Make sure that the solution coats the entire inside of the container
3. Let the container sit for at least 30 seconds, then pour out the solution
4. Let the container air dry or rinse with clean water that has been disinfected

Remember to avoid mixing bleach with ammonia or other cleaners, and keep the windows and doors open to get fresh air whenever you use bleach.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), water samples must be collected and tested for contaminants during a boil water advisory. Two set of samples are usually taken at first – the first set of samples are taken on the day of the boil water advisory issue and the second set of samples are taken in the next 24 hours. The DEP will allow the advisory to be lifted only when two consecutive days of clean test results have been achieved. However, as the test results generally take 24 hours to return from the laboratory, the final lab results to lift a boil water advisory may take several days.

Upon the rescinding of a boil water advisory, follow these steps before resuming your usual usage of water:

1. Flush the household pipes and faucets by running the cold-water faucets for 3 minutes each
2. Flush home automatic ice makers by making 3 batches of ice cubes and discarding all 3 batches
3. Drain and refill your hot water heater
4. Run your water softeners through a regeneration cycle
5. Flush water coolers by running the coolers with direct water connections for 5 minutes

The failing infrastructure is one of the major contributors to the issuing of boil water advisories. A report by Bipartisan Policy Center in 2017 outlined that the nation’s water infrastructure is in dire condition. In 2016, the EPA reported that the deteriorating infrastructure causes an estimated 240,000 water main breaks each year, which results in a loss of about 1.7 trillion gallons of treated drinking water that amounts to $2.6 billion. A recent study has also shown that an estimated 19 million Americans become ill each year due to the intake of contaminated water.

The EPA reported an increase of almost 70 percent in the need for water infrastructure investment, including replacement and water treatment, between 1995 and 2011. However, according to a paper recently published by the University of North Carolina’s Environmental Finance Center, federal spending on water and wastewater utilities has stagnated since the 1980s. The AWWA has estimated that expanding and repairing the nation’s water infrastructure would cost $1 trillion, which includes the cost of replacing and updating existing pipe networks and excludes funding new technology that could make the systems more efficient. There is however a lack of the required funds. The ASCE forecasted that the difference between the work needed to be done and the available funds could be $105 billion over the next nine years, which could grow to $152 billion by 2040 if the issue remains unaddressed.

Weather events like heavy rain or snowfall can contribute to main breaks and subsequent boil water orders, as well as having more people than usual in an area which can strain a water system, leading to increased water breakage rates. Nevertheless, the issuing of boil water advisories could become more and more common without an increased investment in the country’s infrastructure.

While boil water advisories aren't very common, being ignorant of its implications could be dangerous to one's health. If a boil water advisory is issued, don't consume any water from the tap unless purified first. Continue to treat the water as if contaminated until the advisory is lifted and not a second sooner.