Water Advisory Listings and Non-potable Systems

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Water Advisories are issued for a drinking water system or a drinking water source by a Medical Officer of Health (Manitoba Health) due to a confirmed or suspected water quality problem. Affected residents and businesses are notified in the event an advisory is issued and provided with instructions on precautionary measures.

Boil Water Advisory Fact Sheets provide information on recommended actions when a water advisory is issued.

Drinking water supply systems in Manitoba are classified into three categories for regulatory and monitoring purposes. A copy of the current listing of Manitoba communities under Water Advisory is available by the following reports:

To see advisory locations in Manitoba, please use the following link to view an interactive map.

Boil water advisories (BWA) are issued in instances where drinking water may be compromised by bacteria or micro-organisms and water users are advised not to consume the water unless it is boiled for one minute, or otherwise disinfected.

Drinking water avoidance advisories (DWAA) are issued in instances where drinking water is compromised by contaminants that cannot be killed or removed by boiling the water. Water users are asked to use an alternate safe source of water such as bottled water.

Water quality advisories (WQA) are issued in instances where drinking water may pose a low risk to health and water users can take actions to reduce their risk other than boiling the water.


Non-potable systems provide water to permanent dwellings for non-potable purposes. An alternative source of water, such as bottled water, must be used for drinking, brushing teeth, preparing food or beverages, including ice and infant formula. A list of registered non-potable systems is available at this link: Non-potable Systems (PDF Format.)

Office of Drinking Water
Box 19
14 Fultz Blvd
Winnipeg, MB  R3Y 0L6
Telephone: (204) 945-5762
Facsimile: (204) 945-1365