Boil Water Advisories and Boil Water Notices

The public water system is carefully designed and operated to provide safe, high-quality drinking water throughout the extent of the system.  It is constantly tested during the treatment process and the system is monitored to ensure that water remains safe for consumption to the farthest extents of the system.  In the event of a significant water treatment or water distribution system problem, such as a major water main break, the water system may issue a Boil Water Advisory or a Boil Water Notice.  These are issued as required by the State of Michigan.  

Advisories or notices may be issued for the entire water system or for parts of the system, depending on the circumstances.  Advisories or notices will most commonly be described in terms of the municipalities served by the water system.  These include the City of St. Joseph; St. Joseph Charter Township (including the Village of Shoreham and the Fairplain area east of the St. Joseph River); Lincoln Charter Township (including the Village of Stevensville); and Royalton Township.  

Boil Water Advisory

A boil water advisory is a public statement advising customers to boil tap water before consuming it. Advisories are issued when an event occurs that may allow the water distribution system to become contaminated, such as a loss of pressure from a water main break, but contamination has not been identified.  An advisory is a precautionary measure intended to preserve public safety while water in the system is tested and confirmed to meet normal standards.  

The drinking water system relies on positive pressure as an important part of system safety.  The water plant brings in water from Lake Michigan, filters it, disinfects it, and pumps it into the system under pressure.  As long as the system is under pressure, when water is used, whether a faucet, shower, sprinkler, fire hydrant, or industrial use, the water flowing out of the system acts to prevent contamination from being introduced back into the system.  However, if a portion of the system completely loses pressure (no water comes out of your faucet) the concern is that contamination could be introduced into the system through back siphonage. 

Out of caution, if system pressures drop to low levels even without being confirmed to drop to zero, an advisory may be implemented to ensure that pressure was not completely lost in an unreported location. Water pressure varies throughout the system, as naturally properties on higher ground will tend to have lower pressure, and higher levels within a structure will also have lower pressure.

Once the problem has been identified and corrected or isolated, it is necessary to restore normal pressure levels in the system, flush the system, and perform tests to confirm the water meets drinking water quality standards.  It takes 24 hours to obtain the results of one round of testing.  The state of Michigan typically requires two satisfactory consecutive rounds of water testing, at least 24 hours apart, in order to confirm good water quality, before it will release an advisory.  However, if the state concludes the particulars of the incident were low-risk and with good initial test results, in some instances, the state will release an advisory after a single round of satisfactory testing.  The advisory is issued to recommend that users boil water until the tests are complete and confirm that the water is safe.  

Again, an advisory does not mean that the water is contaminated, but that there is a possibility contamination has occurred.

On rare occasions, a further heightened "Do Not Drink Notice" or "Do Not Use Notice" could be issued. In these cases, information would be provided with specific information about safety precautions that should be taken including the use of bottled water for drinking, cooking, bathing, and laundry, depending on the circumstances of the emergency.

Actions to Take Under a Boil Water Advisory or Boil Water Notice

When under a Boil Water Advisory or Boil Water Notice, you should:

• Use boiled water or bottled water for water used for consumption or preparing foods, or that otherwise could be ingested, such as for brushing your teeth.  If you boil water, bring it to a rolling boil for one minute, then allow it to cool.

• Discard ice made during the advisory, as freezing does not kill bacteria.

• Use hot, soapy water (add one tablespoon of bleach per gallon as a precaution) to wash dishes, and rinse them with boiled water.

• Water used for bathing (don't ingest it), laundry, and lawn irrigation does not have to be boiled.

• Once the advisory is lifted, flush the piping inside your home or business.  You can do this by running all cold water faucets for five minutes, flushing automatic ice makers by making and discarding several batches of ice, and running drinking water fountains for five minutes.

Boiling the water will kill any bacteria that may be present in the water, including disease-causing microorganisms.

Notifications

In the event of a Boil Water Advisory or Boil Water Notice, the water plant provides information to the Berrien County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division to disseminate to the public and to media outlets, in addition to notifying the state of Michigan.  This notification would be available to the public through:

• The B-WARN! notification system, which automatically notifies citizens through text messages, phone calls, and/or e-mails (sign up here: this County-wide system includes warnings not only for boil water notices but also severe weather alerts and other emergencies; you can customize the types of warnings you would like, how you receive the warnings, and the addresses for which you wish to receive warnings.)    
• The homepage of the City of St. Joseph website.
• City of St. Joseph social media accounts, including Facebook and Instagram.  
• Local radio, TV, print, and internet media.  
• Other municipality websites and social media sites.

If You Observe a Problem

​You can help! If you observe an unusual condition with respect to the water system, please contact the Water Treatment Plant at 269-983-1240 with the location and a description of the issue to help us identify the affected area and locate the problem​. 

Please be aware that there is typically only a single operator at the plant, and especially near the beginning of an emergency may have to focus on operating the plant to best manage the situation rather than answering the phone, or might have multiple calls coming in simultaneously and be unable to answer every call.  If the phone goes to voicemail, please leave a message indicating your address and what you are observing (no water coming out of a faucet, very low flow, if you see water flowing out of the ground that might indicate a leak, discolored water coming out of a faucet, etc.)