Pets and a Boil Water Advisory: What the Notice Actually Tells You to Do

Give your pets commercially bottled water, or tap water boiled as your utility’s notice directs and then cooled. That is the pet line CDC publishes for a boil water advisory, and it comes with limits. A home filter, a refrigerator dispenser and ice already made from tap water do not get you out of the advisory. Boiling does not fix a chemical advisory, and it does not treat a fish tank. The notice your own water system issued is the instruction that governs, because it was written for the contaminant you actually have.

This page covers one situation: the municipal water still runs, it still looks normal, and an agency has told you not to trust it. It does not cover a go bag or a well contaminated for weeks. The advisory will not name the four bowls, the fountain, the ice tray, the tank or the kittens on formula, so this page walks through each.

First: Find Out Which Advisory You Got

“Water advisory” is not one instruction. EPA’s water decontamination FAQ for customers says: “There are three broad types of water advisories: Boil Water Advisory, Do Not Drink Water Advisory, and Do Not Use Water Advisory.”

CDC’s overview describes them in the same order:

• Boil water advisory: boil your tap water before using it. Boiling kills germs in the tap water that could make you sick.
• Do not drink water advisory: use commercially bottled water for drinking and cooking, because swallowing chemicals or toxins in the tap water could make you sick.
• Do not use water advisory: use commercially bottled water for all purposes, because swallowing, touching or other contact with the tap water could be dangerous.

New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection lists a fourth category in its Drinking Water Advisory fact sheet (Ver 2, February 2021): Conservation. The fact sheet does not define it, but by name it concerns water use rather than a germ or chemical, so read what your notice asks before you boil anything.

Only the first of these is fixed by a pot on the stove. CDC’s emergency water page carries a boxed warning: “You cannot make water containing fuel, toxic chemicals, or radioactive materials safe by boiling or disinfecting it.” New York State’s Department of Health, in guidance for public health professionals revised April 2023, says: “A boil water response is NOT appropriate when chemical contamination is present.” It explains that boiling may increase exposure to chemicals such as nitrates and solvents, by concentrating them in the boiled water or by releasing them into the air you breathe. It says the same about gross contamination such as raw sewage or high turbidity, where particles can impair boiling, and says another water source must be used.

The failure to prevent is a household that hears “advisory,” boils everything including the dog’s bowl, and hands the animal a more concentrated exposure to whatever was in the water.

So the first action is reading. Open the notice, find the words the issuer used, and note the boil time it gave you. EPA’s instruction to customers is one sentence: “Always follow the directions set by your water system during a water advisory.”

What Agencies Publish About Pets

Several bodies do publish pet lines for water advisories.

• CDC, under “Caring for pets” on its Drinking Water Advisories overview (last reviewed March 4, 2024): “Give pets commercially bottled water or boiled water that has cooled.” It adds that pets can get sick from some of the same germs as people or spread germs to people. In its do not drink section, CDC lists giving water to pets and making ice among the uses that require commercially bottled water.
• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) says pets can get some of the same diseases as people and that giving them boiled water that has been cooled is a good idea.
• Austin Water says to follow the same boiling procedures for your pet as for yourself, and names water for pets in its list of uses that require boiled water.
• Philadelphia Water Department lists providing pets with boiled water after cooling among its recommended steps.
• New York State Department of Health, in its resident FAQ (revised November 2018), says: “To be certain, give them water that has been boiled then cooled or water from an acceptable alternate source.” It adds that pets vary in their resistance to pathogens, that many are vulnerable to the same diseases as humans and can spread them to owners, and that more specific information may be available from your veterinarian based on the animal and the reason for the notice.

The last point is the one to carry. The animal and the reason for the notice both change the answer, and your veterinarian can weigh both.

The American Veterinary Medical Association’s guide for outdoor enthusiasts and their companion animals says dogs can become infected with Giardia but generally do not show signs of illness, though mild diarrhea may develop. That guide is about untreated water outdoors, not municipal advisories, so it is not advice about your tap. It does explain why an animal that seems fine is not proof the water was.

CDC and New York both say pets can pass germs to people. Neither turns that into an owner hygiene rule, so treat this as ordinary precaution, not a published instruction: handling the animal, its bowls, fountain parts or waste may mean handling something that carries the hazard. Wash your hands with soap and water after each, for as long as the notice is in effect.

The Boil Time Is Not One Number

Federal and state sources differ, and none is mistaken. CDC’s advisory overview says to bring water to a full rolling boil for 1 minute, and 3 minutes at elevations above 6,500 feet, then let it cool before use. Its emergency water page (last reviewed September 19, 2024) gives the same figures.

TCEQ tells customers of Texas public water systems to bring water to a vigorous rolling boil and boil it for two minutes. Austin Water tells its customers to boil vigorously for at least two minutes, counting from when the water begins to bubble. Philadelphia Water Department publishes CDC’s one minute. New York’s resident FAQ also says one full rolling boil for one minute, notes that water may take 30 minutes to cool, and says to plan ahead.

TCEQ states the practical rule: customers of a system that issued a boil water notice should not drink the water without first boiling it as directed by the water provider. Follow the number in the notice you received. If you are boiling for people and animals, boil once at the longer of the numbers in front of you instead of running two pots.

Two details matter with animals underfoot. Cooling takes real time, so make the batch before you need it, while a thirsty dog is not watching. And do not use freezer ice to cool it. Philadelphia warns: “Do not use ice from your freezer to cool boiled water as it could reintroduce contaminants.” Let it cool without ice.

What different issuers publish, side by side

Source	Boil time	Pet line	Ice already made	Home filters
CDC, Drinking Water Advisories overview	1 minute; 3 minutes above 6,500 feet	Bottled water or boiled water that has cooled	Do not use water or ice from appliances connected to your water line, including refrigerator and freezer dispensers	Boil even if you filter
TCEQ, Understanding Boil Water Notices	Vigorous rolling boil, two minutes	Boiled and cooled water is a good idea	Throw out all ice made with tap water	Boil even if filtered; separate paragraph on reverse osmosis
Austin Water customer FAQ	Vigorously, at least two minutes	Same procedures as for yourself	Throw away ice made during the advisory	Not addressed during the notice; replacing filters appears in the post-notice flushing list
Philadelphia Water Department FAQ	One minute at a rolling boil	Boiled water after cooling	Do not cool boiled water with freezer ice; discard ice cubes made during the advisory	Do not use home filtering devices in place of boiling
NY State Dept. of Health, resident FAQ	Full rolling boil, 1 minute	Boiled then cooled, or an acceptable alternate source	Make ice with boiled water or an acceptable alternate source	Most in-home devices are not designed to remove pathogens

The Exclusions Households Miss

These lines sit two thirds of the way down a utility notice, and they catch people who otherwise did everything right.

The refrigerator is part of the plumbing. CDC says this applies to every advisory type: “During any type of drinking water advisory, do not drink or use water from appliances connected to your water line.” That includes refrigerator and freezer water and ice dispensers. If you fill the dog’s bowl from the door because it is cold, that is tap water with a filter cartridge in front of it.

Ice you already made is the same water. TCEQ says: “Do not use ice from ice trays, ice dispensers, or ice makers. Throw out all ice made with tap water.” Austin Water gives the mechanism: “freezing does not kill bacteria.” For many households this is the pet-specific one, because ice cubes are a hot-weather treat, a training reward and a way to slow a fast drinker. During an advisory they are untreated water in a shape the dog likes. Philadelphia extends the logic to food, drinks, ice cubes or formula made or rinsed with tap water while the advisory was in effect: throw them away.

A filter is not an exemption. Filter marketing has taught households the opposite, so four sources are worth reading.

• CDC: “Boil your tap water even if you filter it.” That includes water that has been through a home water filter or a filtering pitcher.
• TCEQ says to boil even if filtered, because most kitchen and household filters typically do not remove bacteria or viruses. It is more careful about reverse osmosis: some point-of-use units may be effective against bacteria, depending on the filter’s absolute pore size and on installation and maintenance per the manufacturer.
• New York State says most in-home treatment devices “are not designed to remove pathogens” and should not be relied on during a boil water event. Even units designed to remove pathogens may not do so all the time unless maintained. Most filtered pitchers and dispensers cannot remove viruses, bacteria or protozoa.
• Philadelphia says not to use home filtering devices in place of boiling, because most home filters will not provide adequate protection from microorganisms.

NSF publishes plain-language descriptions of its standards. NSF/ANSI 42 covers filters certified to reduce aesthetic impurities such as chlorine and taste or odor, which is where most kitchen carbon filters sit. NSF/ANSI 53 covers filters certified to reduce a contaminant with a health effect. NSF/ANSI 58 covers reverse osmosis.

The one standard NSF describes in terms of boil water advisories is NSF/ANSI 244. NSF says those filters are intended for use only on public water supplies that are treated or determined to be microbiologically safe, and protect against intermittent contamination of otherwise safe water, for example “before issuing a boil water advisory”. That describes protection in the window before an advisory exists. It does not describe a filter as a substitute for the instructions in a notice already issued. NSF adds that certification to a standard does not mean a system will reduce all possible contaminants. To learn what your own unit is certified for, look up its model number in NSF’s certified drinking water treatment units listing rather than trusting the box.

That applies to a pet fountain’s carbon cartridge too. None of the sources on this page carves out an exception for a household filter of any kind, and none says what a particular fountain cartridge removes. Our comparison of what treatment gear earns a place in a go bag covers the portable filters and tablets you would carry away from the house, which is a different problem.

The Household Questions, One at a Time

1. The bowls

Empty them, wash them, and refill with commercially bottled water or tap water boiled per your notice and cooled. Boiled water needs about half an hour to cool by New York’s estimate, so make the batch early and keep it covered.

For a multi-animal household this is a volume problem before a safety problem. Louisiana’s state fact sheet on water safety for pets, published during the 2023 saltwater intrusion, says pets typically need about 1 ounce (about 30 ml) of water per pound of body weight per day, and that needs vary with age, weather and stress. Our page on how many gallons a day a household actually goes through works through the published rates and where they disagree.

2. The fountain, reservoir and auto-waterer

A circulating fountain is a reservoir, a pump and, on most models, a replaceable cartridge. The filter section above applies to that cartridge exactly as it applies to a pitcher. A fountain or gravity waterer that holds days of water may hold water from before the advisory or water topped off this morning, and you cannot tell by looking. Treat it as suspect, dump it, and refill with water the notice permits. Do not top it up, because topping up mixes water you trust with water you do not.

None of the sources on this page names a pet fountain, gravity waterer or pet bowl. The general instruction covers the water you put into them: use bottled water or water boiled as your notice directs, and clean the unit with water from the same source. If nobody is home during the day and you rely on automatic waterers, read the failure modes those units have when power drops, since a water main break and an outage often arrive in the same storm.

3. Ice in the tray

TCEQ says throw out all ice made with tap water, Austin Water says freezing does not kill bacteria, and Philadelphia says not to use freezer ice to cool boiled water. Make new ice from bottled or properly boiled water if your animal expects ice, and check whether your own notice addresses it.

4. Washing bowls, fountain parts and waterers

CDC publishes dish instructions for a boil water advisory, written for dishes, not pet equipment. Its first suggestion sidesteps the problem: use disposable plates, cups and utensils if possible. For machine washing, CDC says dishwashers are generally safe if they have a sanitizing cycle or reach a final rinse temperature of at least 150°F (66°C), and to check the manual or contact the manufacturer to find out what temperature yours reaches. That transfers cleanly to a stainless bowl you would put in the dishwasher anyway.

CDC also publishes a hand-washing procedure that includes a soak in a bleach solution. It does not name pet bowls, fountain reservoirs, pump housings or waterer tanks, so do not assume it applies to them. This page does not restate the bleach amounts; read CDC’s page for the exact procedure. CDC’s broader surface instruction is to clean washable toys and surfaces with commercially bottled water, boiled water, or water that has been disinfected with bleach. Plastic fountain parts, pump impellers and silicone gaskets have manufacturer cleaning instructions of their own that a bleach soak may contradict, so check that manual.

5. The aquarium, where boiling is the wrong move

Boiling a pot of water for the fish tank does nothing about the thing that kills fish in tap water, and the water utilities say so. Municipal supplies are disinfected, and depending on the system that may be chlorine or chloramine. New Jersey American Water describes chloramines as disinfectants used to treat drinking water, formed by mixing chlorine with ammonia at carefully controlled levels.

Alameda County Water District, a utility in Fremont, California, answers the boiling question directly in its fish owner FAQ: “Boiling is not an effective way to remove chloramines from water.” It says the only practical methods are a water conditioner that contains a dechloraminator or granular activated carbon, and tells owners to ask their pet supplier how to use those products.

New Jersey American Water’s chloramine fact sheet for fish, amphibian and pond owners (code 02-2019) says chloramine “cannot be removed by boiling water, reverse osmosis, adding salt or letting water stand in an open container to dissipate.” It adds: “Chloramines must be neutralized or removed from the water that is used in fish tanks, ponds and aquariums.”

ACWD says that unlike chlorine, which dissipates when water sits for a few days, chloramines may take weeks to disappear, so leaving a bucket out overnight does not work. It also warns about test kits: “A free chlorine test of chloraminated water would read zero but still be toxic to fish.” It tells fish owners to use a total chlorine or combined chlorine test, and says chloramine residuals in water used to keep fish should be kept below 0.1 mg/L.

So during a boil water advisory the tank does not switch to boiled water. It stays on the treatment routine it already has, with a conditioner that neutralizes chloramine if your utility uses chloramine, used per that product’s label. Whether the pathogens behind your particular advisory pose a risk to a specific tank, or to you handling it, is not answered by these utility documents. Read your own notice and ask your veterinarian or an aquatic specialist before changing anything on a stocked tank.

If you do not know whether your utility uses chloramine, the annual water quality report is where households find out. EPA says community water systems must deliver a Consumer Confidence Report, an annual drinking water quality report, to customers, and that suppliers must send it each year by July 1. For a tank that loses its heater and filter entirely, see our page on keeping a tank alive when the power is out.

6. Reptile misters, soaking dishes and amphibians

New Jersey American Water’s fact sheet describes chloramines as toxic to saltwater and freshwater fish, and to reptiles, turtles and amphibians where water contacts the bloodstream through gills. It says chloramine is only potentially harmful to fish and other aquatic or semi-aquatic life, and describes it as safe for cats, dogs and birds. Those are statements about routine chloraminated tap water, made by a utility explaining a disinfection change, not about what to do during an advisory.

None of the sources on this page addresses a reptile’s soaking dish, a misting reservoir or an amphibian’s water during a drinking water advisory. A state herpetological or exotics resource may publish one. Water an amphibian or semi-aquatic reptile lives in has its own chemistry problem that predates your advisory. Water a reptile drinks is closer to the bowl case. Which one your setup is, and what to do when both are live, is a question for the exotics practice that sees your animal.

7. Orphan kitten formula

Milk replacer is mixed with water, and the manufacturer specifies how. PetAg’s product page for KMR Kitten Milk Replacer Powder publishes mixing directions built on warm water. This page does not publish a ratio, volume, interval or substitution, because those belong to the directions on the product you own and to the veterinarian or rescue supervising the litter. A neonatal kitten is the animal least able to survive an error.

What this page can say is which water goes into those directions. Under a boil water advisory, it is commercially bottled water or tap water boiled per your notice and then cooled. Under a do not drink or do not use advisory, it is commercially bottled water only, since CDC lists mixing baby formula among the uses that require it and says boiling does not fix chemical contamination. Our kitten evacuation go bag covers what a household with a young litter should have staged before any of this starts.

8. The bath

The published bathing instructions are written for humans and hinge on not swallowing the water. CDC says to be careful not to swallow any water when bathing or showering, and to take care with babies and young children for the same reason. New York’s resident FAQ says that unless a do not use notice has been issued, healthy individuals may use water for showering, bathing, shaving and washing as long as care is taken not to swallow it. It adds that people with open wounds, cuts, blisters or recent surgical wounds, and people who are immunocompromised, should use boiled or alternate water.

No source on this page addresses an animal that grooms itself after a bath. If the bath can wait until the notice lifts, let it wait. If it cannot, ask your veterinarian, who can weigh your animal against the reason the notice was issued. For your own part, keep the water out of your mouth and eyes, and wash your hands and arms with soap and water afterward. That precaution extends CDC’s and New York’s sentences to animals; neither wrote it for animal baths. Under a do not use advisory, CDC says any contact with the tap water could be dangerous and to use commercially bottled water for all purposes.

When the Notice Is Not a Boil Notice: Louisiana’s Salt Example

Louisiana ran the clearest documented version of this. During the 2023 saltwater intrusion on the lower Mississippi, when salt water moving upstream threatened public supplies drawn from the river, the state published a fact sheet titled “Water Safety for Pets during Saltwater Intrusion”, marked “Last updated: 10/9/23”. Boiling does not remove salt, so its instructions were not boil instructions. It said: “Animals cannot safely consume water that contains high levels of salt.” It also said that if your water system is under a saltwater advisory, also called a High Sodium Water Advisory, pets should not be given tap water.

For a substitute, the state said store-bought bottled water, or water you bottle yourself from other municipal sources unaffected by the intrusion, is fine for household pets. It also said that at that time there was no need to stock up on more water than you need.

Same faucet, same animals, different instruction. The only way to know which one you are in is to read your utility’s notice. The same logic governs an advisory for a chemical spill, a treatment failure or a fuel release: CDC’s warning that you cannot boil out fuel, toxic chemicals or radioactive materials, and New York’s warning that boiling can concentrate nitrates and solvents, apply to a bowl exactly as they apply to a glass. Flooding is the other common trigger and often brings both problems at once. Our flood preparedness page for pet households covers the rest of that scenario.

When the Advisory Lifts

The end of a notice has its own chore list, and pet equipment is quietly inside it.

New York’s FAQ publishes the fullest version. Run all cold water faucets on full for at least five minutes each, longer for a long or complex service connection. For ice machines, dump existing ice and flush the water feed lines by making and discarding three batches of ice, wipe down the ice bin with a disinfectant, and increase to five batches if the feed line is longer than 20 feet. For appliances with direct water connections or tanks, run enough water to completely replace at least one full volume of all lines and tanks. Replace other water filters, since they are disposable and may be contaminated.

Philadelphia’s flushing list matches, including making and discarding three batches of ice in automatic ice makers and changing refrigerator filters. Austin Water’s list has the same shape: run cold water faucets, discard three batches of ice, regenerate water softeners, replace water filters.

None of those lists names a pet drinking fountain, gravity waterer or bowl. They do have something in common: they replace disposable filter media and flush standing water out of anything that holds it. A fountain cartridge is disposable filter media sitting in standing water. Whether to replace yours is a judgment the published lists do not make for you, but it is the same category of item they tell you to replace. The bowls, toys and bedding are the other half of reopening, and our return-home page for pet households covers the broader case where the house itself was affected.

Your Boil Water Advisory Checklist

• Read the actual notice and find out which type it is. Boil water, do not drink, do not use and conservation are four different orders with four different answers.
• If it is not a boil water advisory, do not boil. CDC says you cannot boil out fuel, toxic chemicals or radioactive materials, and New York State warns that boiling can concentrate nitrates and solvents. Use commercially bottled water for the animals and follow the notice.
• Note the boil time your issuer published, and whether you are above 6,500 feet, which changes CDC’s figure.
• Empty and refill every bowl, fountain reservoir and gravity waterer. Do not top up.
• Wash your hands with soap and water after handling the animal, its bowls, fountain parts or waste, for as long as the notice is in effect.
• Stop using the refrigerator’s water and ice dispensers. CDC’s exclusion covers every advisory type.
• Throw out ice made from tap water (TCEQ says all of it; Austin and Philadelphia cover ice made during the advisory, so check your notice), and stop giving ice cubes as treats until the notice lifts.
• Do not treat any filter as an exemption. To learn what your unit is certified for, look up the model in NSF’s certified products listing.
• Leave the aquarium on its normal conditioner routine and do not boil water for it.
• For a reptile soaking dish, a misting reservoir or an amphibian, call the exotics practice that sees your animal.
• For orphan neonates, use the manufacturer’s own mixing directions with water the advisory permits, and call the veterinarian or rescue supervising the litter before changing anything else.
• Boil a batch early, because it takes roughly half an hour to cool, and do not cool it with old ice.
• Call your veterinarian if an animal has already been drinking the water, or is very young, very old, pregnant or immune compromised.
• When the notice lifts, flush the lines, discard three batches of ice, and consider replacing disposable filter cartridges, including the one in the fountain.

Do This on a Quiet Afternoon

Three things done before an advisory make all of the above take ten minutes instead of an hour.

Find out what your utility puts in the water. Your utility’s annual water quality report and water quality pages tell you whether your system uses chlorine or chloramine, which decides how your fish tank behaves. EPA says suppliers must send the report each year by July 1.

Sign up for your utility’s notifications. TCEQ’s rules require a Texas system to issue a boil water notice as soon as possible, but no later than 24 hours after the violation or condition occurs. New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection says where there is potential for immediate risk to human health, water suppliers must notify customers immediately, no later than 24 hours after the system becomes aware. Fast notification only helps if it reaches you.

Keep bottled water on hand so the first hour of an advisory is not a trip to a store where everyone else is also standing. New York’s FAQ notes that a boil water event typically lasts 24 to 48 hours but can run several days or more. Our pet food and water storage page covers rotation and containers.

Where to Go Next

This page is the municipal-advisory spoke of our pet emergency playbooks hub.

• If the water is off, not merely suspect: how long a dog can go without water covers the timeline, and how much water to store per animal sets the volume.
• If you are leaving the house: the treatment gear that earns a place in a go bag compares tablets against filters for field water.
• If the power is out too: pets and power outages covers the wider failure.

Then do the one thing that pays off most: open your utility’s last water quality report, find out whether your system uses chlorine or chloramine, and write the answer on the same page as your veterinarian’s number.