Boil Water Information

What is a Boil Water Advisory (BWA)?

The term Boil Water Advisory (BWA) is intended to communicate actions needed by consumers in response to a situation meeting the definition of a Tier 1 Public Notice (PN). In rule, there is no language referring to a BWA. The rule states that the public water system must provide notice within 24 hours of a tier 1 PN requirement (327 IAC 8-2.1-8). The PN/BWA is to be distributed in a form and manner reasonably calculated to reach all persons served. There are several reasons when a PN or Boil Water Advisory is to be issued. The commonality is that the situation has significant potential to cause serious adverse health effects.

When To Issue a Boil Water Advisory?

It is important to know when to issue an advisory. The water system must be aware and prepare to issue a BWA when: Distribution System pressure drops below 20 psi. Prior to a scheduled outage for maintenance or repairs where a loss of pressure may be anticipated. During or after a water main break of an isolated geographical area or system wide outage. Water quality data suggests that there may be a health concern, such as after routine water samples show presence of E. coli.