The City of Red Deer is confident in our water quality and in most cases a boil water advisory is used as a precautionary measure. We make every effort to inform you as soon as possible.

Boil water advisories are issued when the City of Red Deer suspects the presence of harmful microbes, like E.coli bacteria or Giardia parasites in the drinking water supply. Consuming water that carries these microbes can make you and your pets sick; however boiling the water kills these microbes making the water safe for consumption.

When the contamination of drinking water supply is suspected, The City of Red Deer, along with Alberta Health Services, will issue a boil water advisory to the area(s) affected.

Boil water advisories may be issued for the following reasons:

• Water leaks or main breaks where contamination is possible
• Depressurization of water mains
• Contaminants enter the water distribution system from the Water Treatment Plant

City of Red Deer employees will hand deliver notices door-to-door to affected homes and businesses. In some cases it might be Alberta Health Services who contacts you, particularly if you own a business. Should the affected area be too large that door-to-door knocking is not feasible, electronic sign boards will be put in the affected areas alerting residents.

Hand delivered notices include information about what to do during a Boil Water Advisory. You can help by contacting your neighbours to ensure they know about the Boil Water Advisory.

Water should be brought to a rolling boil for at least one minute. Boiled water, bottled water, or water from another public supply not affected by the advisory, should be used for the following:

• For drinking or preparing beverages (including coffee)
• For making formula and baby food and for washing baby bottles
• For washing and preparing food to be eaten raw (fruit, vegetables, etc.)
• For preparing food that doesn’t require long cooking (canned soup, dessert, etc.)
• For making ice cubes
• For brushing your teeth or rinsing your mouth

Discard all ice cubes, food, and beverages, that were made with unboiled water after the boil water advisory was issued.

The City of Red Deer is confident in our water quality and in most cases a boil water advisory is issued as a precautionary measure. We make every effort to inform you as soon as possible.

If you are immunocompromised or have specific health-related questions, please contact Alberta Health Link at 811.

Adults and teens may take showers or bathe during a boil water advisory. Older children could also be given a shower with a hand-held showerhead, avoiding the face. Due to the higher risk of younger children drinking bath water, they should be given a sponge bath instead of bathing them in a tub.

Residents can help flush the system by running water in their bathtub for one to two minutes after water services have been restored (in the event of a water leak, main break or depressurization) and/or when a boil water advisory has been issued.

The boil water advisory will be in place until water tests confirm that there is no contamination. For example, in the case of a water main break, the advisory would be in effect for approximately three days after the main is repaired. This allows for two sets of samples to be analyzed by a provincial laboratory.

City of Red Deer employees will hand deliver rescind notices door-to-door to affected homes and businesses. Should the affected area be too large that door-to-door knocking is not feasible, electronic sign boards will be put in the affected areas alerting residents.

For more information about what to do during a boil water advisory, please visit Alberta Health Services.