Water contamination or outage
The tap water is unsafe, under an official advisory, or has stopped flowing.
Warning signs
- Boil water, do not drink or do not use notice
- Water cloudy, smelly or discoloured after flooding or works
- Low or no pressure across the area
Stay or go
Stay home while you have safe stored water and sanitation. Go to official water points with your own containers, or leave, if supplies run out.
Do now
- Find out which advisory applies: boil water, do not drink, or do not use. Each needs different action.
- Under a boil notice, bring water to a full rolling boil for 1 minute (3 minutes above about 2,000 m), then cool. (water-25)
- Under a do not drink notice, use bottled water; boiling does not remove chemicals.
- Plan at least 3 litres per person per day for drinking from stored water. (water-12)
Then
- Use safe water for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, baby bottles, ice and pet water. (medical-17)
- Filtering is not enough under a boil notice; still boil the water.
- Avoid swallowing water when bathing; consider sponge baths for babies.
- Take your own containers to official water points if supplies are handed out.
- Keep tap water for laundry and gardens if the advisory allows it. (living-7)
Related steps
Sources
- Drinking water advisories: an overview. CDC, accessed 2026-11
- If crisis or war comes (municipal edition, 2024). Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) / Linkoping Municipality, accessed 2026-11
- Water supply standard 1: access and water quantity. Sphere, accessed 2026-11