Healthy Drinking Water and Healthy Homes – Communicating to the Public: What is a Drinking Water Advisory?

Healthy Drinking Water and Healthy Homes – Communicating to the Public
What is a Drinking Water Advisory?

DO NOT PANIC !  What are Drinking Water Advisories and What Should You Do ?

Drinking water advisories let customers know that their tap water or drinking water could be contaminated and make them sick.  There are no advisories for private well owners or drinking wate systems that are NOT regulated. Advisories are used to send a message to users, customers, individuals, business, schools and other institutions that there is a potential problem with the water and how to act without getting into the details that are part of a Community Water Supply System or a regulated Non-Community System like a school, gasoline station that serves food, etc.  One thing we learned from Flint, Michigan and other case studies is that the citizens and most users do not really know what a “Drinking Water Advisory Means” and most Authorities or Water Companies DO NOT Know How to Explain the Situation.

The drinking water advisories typically fall into one of these 3 categories:  “Boil Water Advisory”, “Do Not Drink Advisory”, and “Do Not Use Advisory”.   Just to confuse you a little more, there is also something called a  Health Advisories that are published by EPA and we will deal with these separately.

Boil Water Advisory

If your local health officials, water company, water provider, or Authority issues a boil water advisory, you should take the immediate action of not using your drinking water for consumption (DO NOT DRINK !).

The boil water advisory means that the water may or does contain a pathogen, i.e., a disease-causing agent.   The primary actions would include establishing another temporary water source, such as bottled or bulk water, or boiling the water prior to use and consumption.  (Please Note:  I did not say filter the water or Microwave the water and I did not say drink hot water. I said BOIL!)

Boil water advisories the details.

1. Use bottled water, bulk drinking water, or boiled water for drinking, and to prepare and cooking food, feeding the pets, brushing your teeth, and making baby formula.
2. If bottled water is not available, bring your tap water to a full rolling boil for 1 minute for elevations below 6,500 feet and if you live at an elevation of over 6,500 feet a 3 minute rolling boil is needed.  After boiling, allow the water to cool before use and while it is cooling give a good shake to try and “re-aerate” the water, it will taste better.
3. If a boil water advisory is issued, you CAN NOT just filter your water through a particle filter or install or use a Class B UV water treatment system– this is NOT adequate. The verb in the sentence is “BOIL” not filter, but it is ok to boil and then filter (YES).   They make some very good home water coolers
4. Do not use ICE comes from your automatic ice maker even if the unit has a filter or inline UV unit, the water must be cooled and then cooled and then you can make ice.
5. Breastfeeding is the better choice. If you formula feed your child, provide ready-to-use formula, if possible, or the water must be boiled (not Microwaved or heated) and cooled.  The boiled water should be used within 72 hours (Source: Allinahealth.org)
6. You a water screening test on your temporary water source and your water source when it comes off the boil water advisory.

Handwashing – (After COVID you should be a PRO)

1. In many cases, you can use tap water and soap to wash hands during a boil water advisory. DO NOT wash your hands in boiling water or hot water. Follow the guidance from your local public health officials.
2. Be sure to scrub your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Then, rinse them well under running water, but make sure to dry your hands.
3. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol (Source: CDC).

Bathing and showering

1. Be careful not to swallow any water when bathing or showering.
2. Use caution when bathing babies and young children. Consider giving them a sponge bath to reduce the chance of them swallowing water. You do not need to use bottled water, but you can if you wish.

Brushing teeth

1. Brush teeth with boiled water that has cooled or bottled water. Do not use tap water that you have not boiled. You may want to then store your toothbrush in some saline or salt water to prevent bacterial regrowth.

Washing dishes

1. If possible, use disposable plates, cups, and utensils during a boil water advisory.

1. Household dishwashers generally are safe to use if:
   • The water reaches a final rinse temperature of at least 150 degrees Fahrenheit (66°Celsius), or
   • The dishwater has a sanitizing cycle.
   • At the end of the boil water advisory, we recommend running a sanitizing cycle and using a dishwasher cleaner tablet approved by the manufacturer.
2. Sanitize all baby bottles.
3. 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 before using again.

Laundry

Washing Clothes  (Assuming the drinking water is not discolored or turbid)

1. Assuming the water is not discolored or turbid, it is likely safe to wash clothes as usual, but I would clean the unit by using chlorine or a citric acid cleaner or a clothes washer cleaner tablet approved by the manufacturer.

Do Not Drink Water Advisory

Local health authorities issue a do not drink water advisory when your community’s water is, or could be, contaminated with harmful chemicals and toxins, and when boiling water will not make it safe.

Authorities may recommend limited use of tap water for some tasks, depending on the harmful chemical or toxin contaminating the water. Follow health officials’ advice carefully to protect your health and your family’s health.

During a do not drink water advisory, use bottled water for: drinking and cooking, brushing teeth, washing fruits and vegetables, preparing food, mixing baby formula, making ice, and drinking water to pets and livestock.

In some instances, it will be safe to wash hands, flush toilets and shower; in other instances, it will not. You should be cautious when bathing a baby and young children; they might swallow water.

Do not drink or use water from any appliance connected to your water supply lines. This includes the water and ice dispensers in your refrigerator, freezer and dishwasher.

Do Not Use Water Advisory

Local health authorities issue a do not use water advisory when your community’s water is, or could be, contaminated with germs, harmful chemicals, toxins, or radioactive materials. Under this advisory any contact, even with the skin, lungs, or eyes, can be dangerous. Do not drink or use tap water from the impacted system for any purpose as long as the advisory is in effect, including for bathing. These types of advisories are rare.

EPA Health Advisory (HAs)

HAs primarily serve as information to drinking water systems and officials responsible for protecting public health when emergency spills or other contamination situations occur. The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) authorizes EPA to issue HAs for contaminants that are not subject to a National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) (Source:  42 U.S.C. §300g-1(b)(1)(F)). HA documents provide technical information on chemical and microbial contaminants that can cause human health effects and are known or anticipated to occur in drinking water. HA values/levels identify the concentration of a contaminant in drinking water at which adverse health effects and/or aesthetic effects are not anticipated to occur over specific exposure duration (e.g., 1 day, 10 days, a lifetime).

HA: Health Advisory- An estimate of acceptable drinking water levels for a chemical substance based on health effects information; a Health Advisory is not a legally enforceable Federal standard, but serves as technical guidance to assist Federal, state, and local officials.

“One-day HA: The concentration of a chemical in drinking water that is not expected to cause any adverse noncarcinogenic effects for up to one day of exposure

Ten-day HA: The concentration of a chemical in drinking water that is not expected to cause any adverse noncarcinogenic effects for up to ten days of exposure.

Lifetime HA: The concentration of a chemical in drinking water that is not expected to cause any adverse noncarcinogenic effects for a lifetime of exposure.”

Drinking Water Advisories – Water Standards and Health Advisory Tables (2018)

Listing of Drinking Water Contaminants

EPA Health Advisory’s for PFOA, PFOS, GenX Chemicals– Hexafluoropropylene oxide (HFPO) Dimer Acid and Ammonium Salts, and Perfluorobutane Sulfonic Acid and Potassium Salts (PFBS)

Drinking Water Health Advisories for Two Cyanobacterial Toxins

Water Treatment Systems

Crystal Quest – Point of Use, Point of Entry, Whole House, Coolers, Pitchers
US Water Systems – Disinfection, Iron, Manganese, PFOS, Taste, Odors