We just had a boil order. I’m curious as to why they’re necessary, how do people get sick, and why they’re issued
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When toxins or harmful organisms reach a high enough level in the drinking water that your body cannot naturally deal with them a boil issue might help. Boil orders are issued when a toxin or organism (that can be killed AND broken down by heat) are found in drinking water. Sometimes, toxins and organisms cannot be killed and broken down by heat and boiling would not help but when they can be, an issue to boil water is given because the harmful bacteria or toxins can be destroyed by boiling. If the toxin or organism cannot be broken down by heat than something else would need to be done either with additional filters or chemicals.
Every toxin is different and has its own threshold for how many parts of that toxin are in one million parts per water (parts per million or ppm) are safe for humans.
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