At the street, stop 6 of 6

Boil water advisory or notice: what the words mean

A boil water advisory in Columbia means the water may be contaminated, and a notice means testing confirmed pathogens¹. Follow the agency’s words on either. Columbia Water asks for a vigorous rolling boil for at least one minute before drinking or cooking.

Go to the kitchen with your water bill, and find the utility’s message for the address on it.

Updated November 4, 2026, Midlands House Walk

Covered saucepan with water boiling hard under the lid on an electric stove — A covered saucepan at a rolling boil on an electric stove. Start your minute only once the water is moving hard, as Columbia Water asks¹.

Steel pot with steam rising and water bubbling hard on a coil burner — A pot at a full boil on an electric coil range. Keep small children clear of the stove and let the water cool before you pour it out. AI-generated picture.

What a rolling boil looks like

Look for: Big bubbles break across the whole surface and keep going when you stir. Start timing a full minute from there.
What it tells you: A few small bubbles at the edge aren’t enough. Columbia Water’s wording is a vigorous rolling boil for at least one minute¹.

Rust-brown lengths of old pipe lying in broken rubble — Corroded old cast-iron water pipes lying in rubble after being dug up. Breaks and repairs are a common reason for an advisory.

Why an advisory goes out

Look for: Look for a street crew, a wet patch on the road, or a sudden drop in pressure at every tap.
What it tells you: Columbia Water lists line breaks and repairs as a common reason, along with treatment complications, loss of pressure in a significant part of the system, and an approaching hurricane¹. A whole-house drop could be a leak or main break, and it should be reported².

Translucent plastic container with a white cap sitting by a kitchen sink — A plain sample container by a kitchen sink. The testing that ends an advisory is the utility’s, so your counter stays out of it. AI-generated picture.

How it ends

Look for: Wait for the utility’s own repeal message on its alert page, and check that it covers your address. A neighbor’s word isn’t enough.
What it tells you: Repeal follows bacteriological testing¹. Customers on public supply can’t send samples to SC DES, which Clemson’s pages may still call DHEC³.

Small wooden shed with a shingle roof and a metal pipe in a yard with pines — A small pump house in a rural yard. A notice from a utility speaks only for that utility’s water, so a private well needs its own answer. AI-generated picture.

On a private well

Look for: No water bill means no utility message covers your tap. Check whether your water comes from a well before you rely on a notice either way.
What it tells you: Well owners are responsible for their own testing³. See testing a private well, and the flooded well page if water has covered it.

Does Columbia's wording apply in other towns?

Only for Columbia Water customers. Another utility’s message may use different words, so follow the agency that issued it. Floods bring their own list: see after a flood.

Yours to do

Find out which utility serves you. The name on the bill decides.
Boil water at least one minute for drinking and cooking for as long as the message says. Don’t wash food, dishes or hands with tap water unless it has been boiled and cooled, and skip dishwashers and ice machines¹.
After repeal, throw out ice made during the advisory. Turning on your taps can flush the lines¹.
Columbia customers can reach customer care around the clock, and name the address when they do⁴.

For a licensed pro

Testing and repeal belong to the utility, not to you or a plumber.
Low pressure on your side once the street is back to normal goes to a plumber. Start with the low pressure page.

Where this comes from

Keep walking to front yardWhat's in the water meter box, and what isn't yours