NAPSI: The power goes out. There is construction in your neighborhood. A flood strikes. A water main cracks. Each of these can cause a disruption in the flow of water to your home.

This disruption can affect the quality of your water for drinking, cooking and household chores. Boil Water Advisories issued tips to ensure consumers take proper precautions to make sure water is safe to drink.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention work to ensure consumers only use water that has been properly disinfected for drinking, cooking, cleaning dishes or for personal hygiene.

Here are some safety tips from the Boil Water Advisory:

• Drink bottled water. Drink water from a source you know wasn’t affected by a water main, such as water from a bottled water cooler or single-use bottled water. You may want to contact a local bottled water delivery service to quickly get access to three- or five-gallon jugs of water.

• Boil water to disinfect. This is the best method for ensuring drinking water is disinfected. Boil water for one minute, let it cool and store it in clean, covered containers. Boiling will kill any disease-causing organisms and provide you with clean, potable water.

• Use household products. If you cannot boil your water, an alternative is to use unscented liquid household chlorine bleach to sanitize the water. Simply add 1 teaspoon (or eight drops) of unscented liquid household chlorine bleach for each gallon of water. Stir well and let it stand for 30 minutes before use.

• Filter cloudy or murky water. Look at the appearance of your water in a clear glass. If it looks discolored or murky, you may want to filter it and disinfect it. You can create a very basic filter using a clean cloth, a coffee filter or a paper towel. However, it will still need to be disinfected.

For more information, visit www.culligan.com,http://water.epa.gov/drink/emerprep/emergencydisinfection.cfm andwww.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/power outage/needtoknow.asp. Norh American Precis Syndicate, Inc.