Austin’s Boil Water Notice Is Over

Austin’s nearly-week boil water notice is now over, as of around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 29, according to Austin Water, the city’s water company The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality checked the tap water levels to ensure that the tap water is safe to drink. This means that the city residents and businesses don’t need to boil tap water or use bottled water for consumption, food and beverage preparations, or ice.

However, Austin restaurants are required to flush out all water lines, like ice machines, coffee machines, and other appliances used for food and drink preparation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All restaurants have to run water through every faucet and drinking fountain for two minutes, clean each appliance that uses water, make one more batch of ice and throw it out, along with older batches of ice.

Austin Water and the city are still asking residents and businesses to reduce water usage so that the water treatment plants aren’t overwhelmed. This includes no decorative water fountains, landscape watering, or adding more water to pools.

Austin restaurants and bars were caught off-guard when the boil water notice was enacted last Monday, so much so that some establishments had to temporarily close or rework menus in order to open for business. Austin breweries pitched in by boiling up huge batches of water for coffee shops, businesses, and residents, using its brewing equipment.

• Boil Water Notice is Lifted [City of Austin]
• Food Establishment Flushing Procedure Following Lifting of City of Austin Boil Water Notice [City of Austin]
• Austin Boil Water Notice Affects Local Restaurants [EATX]