According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), all water used for drinking, cooking, and oral hygiene should be brought to a full boil for a minimum of one minute. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms that might be present in the water. It is not necessary to boil water for other uses.

Reasons Advisories are Issued

Boil advisories are issued as a precaution with a customer's best interests in mind. A Boil advisory is most often declared for the potential of contamination even when that potential is very low.

It is possible, but unlikely, that bacteria could enter the water system from power outages at severe main breaks.

Advisory Duration

Once an advisory is declared it must last a minimum of 24 - 48 hours before Environmental Protection Agency rules allow it to be lifted.

Boil Advisory Precautions

While the boil advisory is in effect, The City of Tallmadge also recommends that customers:

• Do not swallow water while you are showering or bathing
• Do not use home filtering devices in place of boiling; most home water filters will not provide adequate protection from microorganisms
• Keep boiled water in the refrigerator for drinking
• Provide pets with boiled water after cooling it
• Throw away beverages and ice cubes if made with tap water
• Use only boiled water to treat minor injuries

Notification

In the case of a large area water boil advisory the Summit County 911 Center will place an alert on local TV and radio. In addition the city of Tallmadge uses CivicReady to send mass text to subscribers.

Isolated Area Advisory Notification

For isolated area advisories customers will be notified by door to door contact and door hangers.