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25. Put out a boil water notice and lift it
When you need this: a main break, a pressure loss, or a bad sample means the water is not safe to drink until you say so. Every household has to hear it fast. This gets the word out by text, email and phone in a couple of minutes, with the message already written.
Steps
On the left side of the screen, click Customer Messaging. You land on the messaging home page.
Find the red Emergency Communications box.
Click Boil Water Advisory. The send page opens with the boil water message already filled in.
Click All Customers so every household gets it. If only one part of town is affected, pick Map Selection and draw around that area instead.
Read the text message once. Add the street or the part of town if you know it. Leave the boil instructions as they are.
Scroll down to Review & Send and check the count of people. Then click Send.
Now call your state drinking water office. They will tell you what samples they need before you can lift the notice.
Lifting the notice
When the state says the water is safe, come back to Send Message, click All Customers, and send a short message: the boil water notice is lifted, the water is safe to drink.
If you turned on a website banner when you sent the notice, remove it. On the left, click Payment Portal, then Announcements, and delete the boil water banner.
You are done when
The Delivery Report shows the messages going out. Later, your lifted message shows in Message History right under the notice.
If something looks different
You do not see the red box. Your account may not have permission to send emergency alerts. Ask your administrator, or ask them to send it.
You need a printed notice too. The state usually wants one on doors or in the paper. On the left, click Billing & Payments, then Send Notices, and pick Boil Water Advisory. It makes the printed notice and can mail it for you.