Boil Water Advisory

What is a Boil Water Advisory (BWA)?

 A Boil Water Advisory is a public statement issued by a water system advising their customers to boil tap water before consuming it. A boil water advisory is issued when an event has occurred allowing the potential for biological contamination of the water supply. An advisory does not mean that the water is contaminated, but rather that it may be contaminated and consumers should take appropriate precautions.

A BWA is different from a Boil Water Notice. A Boil Water Notice is issued by the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) to the water system for confirmed biological contamination of the water supply. During a Boil Water Notice, all customers must boil their water before consuming it, or use bottled water.

Events that may trigger a Boil Water Advisory include power loss, water main breaks, or other situation (e.g., extreme weather) that causes the water system pressure to drop below 20 psi, and/or a critical treatment failure.  The most common event which causes water systems to issue a BWA is water main breaks from utility construction projects and these usually only impact a small portion of the service area.  For Boil Advisories and Water Outages issued for extreme weather events (e.g. Hurricanes, etc.) see the Emergency Response page.

Why is it necessary to boil my water?

The purpose of issuing a BWA is to prevent exposure to potentially contaminated drinking water. Boiling water kills microorganisms that can cause disease. To boil water, you can bring it to a full rolling boil, let it boil for one minute, and then let it cool before use. 

When will the BWA be lifted?

Once the water system has returned to normal pressure and operation and has adequate disinfection, the water system will collect water samples from the impacted area for analysis of coliform bacteria.  Coliform testing is done by one of the LDH-OPH laboratories (Shreveport, Alexandria, Lake Charles, Baton Rouge and Amite) or by the water system’s certified laboratory.  Per regulations, the test for coliform bacteria takes a minimum of 18-hours, so results are released the day after the samples are submitted to the lab.  The water system will be allowed to lift the BWA if all water samples are negative for total coliform and the disinfectant (chlorine) residual is adequate.

How will I be notified of a BWA for my water system?

Water systems may use multiple methods of notification, including news media, website, phone messaging, email, social media posts, and/or door hangers.  In the event that there is no water pressure in your home, you should assume that a BWA is in effect for your system.  LDH recommends that you contact your water system or check the water system’s website for active boil water advisories.  You can find water system contact information on Drinking Water Watch.

BWAs are not violations, but LDH uses the violation section of Safe Drinking Water Information database to track BWAs that are reported to LDH. To view reported BWAs, please visit: Drinking Water Watch, and search for your water system.  BWAs are listed in the Violations section. The Vio Begin and Vio End indicate the dates of when the BWA was effective.  Select/click the Vio ID to view Comments section for details of the BWA impacted area.

Boil Water Advisory Resources

 For Schools, Daycares, Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities

• CDC- Healthy Water Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities Planning Guide
• CDC - Guidelines for Schools/Childcare Facilities

Additional Information and Contacts

LDH Engineering Office Contacts

Bacteriological Sample Collection