Cheat sheet: Everything LA residents need to know about water advisories

Water departments across L.A. County, including the L.A. Department of Water and Power and Pasadena Water and Power, have issued water advisories for residents near the Palisades and Eaton fires.

Because the fires have opened up the potential for contaminants to get in the water system, these notices offer guidelines for how to use the water safely if you’re in an affected area.

There are two types of advisories in effect right now due to the wildfires. Here’s what advisories are active, what they each mean and what you should do if they affect your area.

What areas are under advisory right now?

To check whether your home is under a water advisory, first make sure you know what water department or district you’re in. You can figure that out by checking your water bill to see which agency is listed. If you’re a renter, ask your landlord.

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Here are the current notices. Keep in mind these advisories don’t always apply to the entire district. Read the notice to see if your address is in the impacted area:

• L.A. Department of Water and Power (ZIP code 90272 and adjacent areas): Do Not Drink
• Pasadena Water and Power: Do Not Drink. See the map of affected areas here
• Kinneloa Irrigation District: Do Not Drink
• Las Flores Water Company: Do Not Use
• L.A. County Waterworks Districts
  
  • LACWD No. 29, Malibu: Do Not Drink
• Lincoln Avenue Water Company: Do Not Use
• Rubio Cañon Land and Water Association: Do Not Use

Note: L.A. County Waterworks District No. 21 in Kagel Canyon cancelled its Boil Water notice on Jan. 13. Pasadena Water and Power also reduced the areas affected by the Do Not Drink notice on Jan. 13, but some areas remain under the advisory. The most recent map is linked above.

What is a Do Not Drink Notice?

A Do Not Drink Notice means you should not drink your tap water at all — and don't try to treat the water yourself by boiling, filtering or adding anything to it.

Agencies will issue a Do Not Drink notice when “the water supply has an acute contaminant that cannot be rendered safe by boiling the water or by disinfection, or is an unapproved source with no water quality data,” according to LADWP.

Here are the guidelines to follow if you’re under a Do Not Drink Notice:

• Drinking and baby formula: Do not use tap water at all, even if it is boiled. Use bottled water to drink, make baby formula and all your other drinking needs.
• Showering and bathing: Using tap water to bathe is safe, but be careful not to swallow the water or let it come into contact with nicks, cuts or open wounds. Sponge bathing is advised. Limit your time in the bath or shower, and do not take hot baths. Use lukewarm water and ventilate the area. 
• Washing dishes: Use bottled water. If you’re using a dishwasher, use the air-dry setting. 
• Washing clothes: It’s OK to use cold tap water to wash your clothes. If your clothes dryer does not vent outside, avoid using it and dry your laundry indoors.
• Washing vegetables and other food prep: Use bottled water for washing or handling food, and for making ice — don’t use automatic ice makers. 
• Washing hands: It’s safe to wash them with tap water as long as you wash vigorously with soap. If you’re washing your hands to prepare food, use bottled water. 
• Water for pets: Use bottled water.
• Swimming pools and hot tubs: Do not use them.

What is a Do Not Use Notice?

This notice means you shouldn’t use the tap water for any home activities, including showering, hand washing, drinking, food preparation or washing dishes. Local water departments say to use bottled water only for all of your water needs.

What is a Boil Water Notice?

A Boil Water Notice means it’s not safe to drink or use your water without boiling it first. There are not currently any Boil Water Notices in effect — as we noted earlier, a Boil Water Notice for L.A. County Waterworks District No. 21 in Kagel Canyon was cancelled earlier this week.

According to LADWP guidelines, a Boil Water Notice is put out when “the water supply has a microbiological contaminant that can be rendered safe by boiling the water or by using bottled water.” The widespread practice of disinfecting water via boiling dates back to 1858 to fight cholera outbreaks.

The rule of thumb for boiling your water is to bring it to a full rolling boil for at least one minute and then allow the water about 30 minutes to cool, according to the CDC.

LADWP advises that you “make up a batch of boiled water in advance so you will not be tempted to use it hot and risk scalds or burns. Boiled water may be used for drinking, cooking, and washing.”

To store your water after it has cooled, just pour it into a clean and covered container.

Here are the guidelines to follow if you’re under a Boil Water Notice:

• Drinking and baby formula: Use pre-boiled or bottled water. 

• Showering and bathing: According to LADWP, the water in your home may be used for showering, bathing, shaving and washing as long as you take care not to swallow any water and avoid having water come into contact with nicks, open wounds, cuts or blisters. Limiting time in the bath or shower can help minimize contact with the water.

  • People who are immunocompromised or have chronic illnesses should use boiled, then cooled water to bathe — sponge bathing is advisable here. 

• Washing dishes:

  • Hand-wash with pre-boiled water. Otherwise, you can rinse your dishes for a minute in a diluted bleach solution (1 tablespoon of unscented bleach per gallon of water) after washing them with dish detergent. 
  • It’s fine to use the water for home dishwashers under the condition that the hot wash is at least 170° F and includes a full dry cycle. If you aren’t sure about the temperature of your specific dishwasher, that diluted bleach mixture rinse we mentioned above is your best friend.
  • You can use a commercial dishwasher if it is a National Sanitation Foundation listed washer.
• Washing clothes: It’s fine to use a washing machine for laundry, as long as the clothes are fully dried before being worn.
• Washing vegetables and other food prep: Wash them with boiled, then cooled, water.
• Brushing teeth: Use pre-boiled or bottled water. 
• Washing hands: It’s okay to use tap water, but use soap and scrub well. If you plan to handle food, use bottled or pre-boiled water.
• Water for pets: Pets can drink pre-boiled or bottled water. For more specific information, contact your vet.

What if I accidentally drank the tap water?

Under any of these advisories, LADWP says the likelihood of becoming sick is low, but still possible, especially for those who are immunocompromised or have a chronic illness. Seek out medical attention if you have any symptoms of gastroenteritis, including diarrhea, nausea, vomiting or abdominal cramps, with or without fever.

Is my home water filter enough to make my water safe to drink? 

No — and that applies to all three advisories. The average home filter is not designed to filter out the types of bacteria that are produced by a wildfire, according to Newsha Ajami, a hydrologist and leading expert in sustainable water resource management. Home filters are built for metals and toxins that are more commonly found in tap water on a day to day basis, Ajami said.

How does water contamination happen from a wildfire?

Ajami says there are a few different ways that the water supply can get contaminated from a wildfire.

One is cracks in the pipes. When water pressure goes down in the pipes due to the high usage from firefighting, the water that has leaked out into the ground is sucked back through the cracks along with all kinds of toxins and pollutants.

A firefighting helicopter drops water on the Palisades Fire.

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Justin Sullivan

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Getty Images

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Another risk is debris making its way into groundwater.

Overheated pipes can also lead to contamination of the water supply. The fires can melt them and affect the efficiency of entire water systems, Ajami said.

How long will these notices be in effect? 

Expect notices to be updated every two days. According to an FAQ from LADWP, the agency will inform residents when tests show that water is safe to drink. That testing takes a minimum of 48 hours to complete according to public safety protocols.

For the Do Not Drink Notice, LADWP says that the changing conditions of this particular event, along with the time it will take to flush the system and making sure the water adheres to their standards makes it difficult to give an estimate.

Pasadena Water and Power began testing its water on Jan. 12. You can look for the latest updates on the department’s website.

Where can I get bottled water?

Potable water is available at:

• 450 N. Lake Avenue, Pasadena, 91101 (Wednesday, Jan. 15 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) 
• 23533 West Civic Center Way, Malibu, 90265 (every day until further notice, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
• Adjacent to the Brentwood Country Club, 741 S. Gretna Green Way, Los Angeles, 90049 (Monday to Wednesday, Jan. 13 – 15, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
• Westwood Recreation Center, 1350 S Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, 90025 (every day until further notice, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.)

Who do I contact with questions about the safety of my water?

Here are phone numbers to call for local water departments:

• Pasadena Water and Power
  
  • Customer service: (626) 744-4005
  • Water emergencies: (626) 744-4138 
• LADWP: (800) DIAL DWP or (800) 342-5397
• Kinneloa Irrigation District: General Manager Tom Majich, (626) 797-6295
• L.A. County Waterworks District: (800) 675-4357 
• Rubio Cañon Land and Water Association: Assistant General Manager Armando De La Paz, (626) 797-0509
• Lincoln Avenue Water Company: (626) 798-9101
• State Water Resources Control Board District Office: (818) 551-2004

LAist reporters Erin Stone and Cato Hernández contributed to this story.