English English

Boil Water Advisories

Boil Water Advisories (BWAs) are most commonly issued when a temporary loss of pressure occurs (or had a reasonable potential to have occurred) due to a water infrastructure repair, replacement, or break. Municipal water customers in the affected area are advised to boil their tap water for 2 minutes prior to use for drinking or other ingestion. No special precautionary measures are necessary for water used for personal hygiene.

BWAs may be issued before a planned/scheduled repair or infrastructure replacement, or issued under emergency conditions such as a water main break or when other water infrastructure is damaged (other causes are rare). Please note that the BWA will always describe the specific area affected, contact numbers, and any appropriate directions, such as boiling your water. The vast majority of BWAs are cautionary and issued without any indication of contamination. 

A list of active Boil Water Advisories can be found below. Depending on the size of your monitor or device, you may need to scroll to see all fields. 

Additional Information:

Boil Water Advisories – Media Releases

A written Boil Water Advisory issued to numerous media organizations when the affected area is relatively large or otherwise has unique circumstances/conditions. Sometimes a map will be provided with the Boil Water Advisory if warranted.

Boil Water Advisories - Notifications

A written and/or verbal Boil Water Advisory issued when the affected area or number of customers is relatively small and can be hand-delivered or verbally communicated to customers within a reasonable amount of time.

Lifting of Boil Water Advisories – Media Releases and Notifications

Lifting of BWAs are issued when the second set of two bacteriological sample sets confirms that the water is safe to drink (minimum of 48 hours). These are communicated the same as described for the original BWAs.


There may be situations when water systems experience contamination that is not microbial, but chemical due to a chemical spill or backflow due to a cross connection. In these cases, a notice to customers could include “Do Not Drink” or "Do Not Use" language since boiling the water may not remove the contamination.

City of Kalamazoo



 (269) 337-8000
 (269) 337-8182
 241 West South Street
     Kalamazoo, MI 49007

Keep in Touch