09/20/2026
Be sure to boil your water before drinking, cooking, or doing oral hygiene (brushing your teeth) until 3 pm Monday.
The Chandler Center will have clean drinking water for all students and staff while on site. 💦💧
Bloomington Utilities issues countywide boil-water advisory after turbidity spike
Written from press release
Storm-related power outages disrupted production at the Monroe Water Treatment Plant; advisory expected to remain in effect through 3 p.m. Monday
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — September 20, 2026
City of Bloomington Utilities issued a precautionary boil-water advisory for Monroe County early Sunday morning after water turbidity exceeded the maximum level permitted under drinking-water standards.
The city sent the advisory to news media at 12:04 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026 — an unusual hour for a routine city news release and an indication of the immediacy of the notification.
Although CBU stressed that the situation is not an emergency, residents should follow the advisory while it remains in effect.
The precautionary advisory is scheduled to continue until 3 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, unless CBU announces otherwise.
CBU said routine monitoring detected turbidity above the maximum permitted level of 1.0 Unit. Turbidity is a measure of cloudiness or suspended material in water. Elevated turbidity can interfere with the effectiveness of water treatment and disinfection.
The utility said the elevated turbidity followed lower-than-normal water production at the Monroe Water Treatment Plant after storm-related power outages overnight.
According to CBU, reduced production caused water levels to fall in the plant’s primary storage tank, contributing to the elevated turbidity.
CBU staff responded by increasing water-quality monitoring and adjusting plant operations to stabilize water production and turbidity levels, according to the city.
The utility said staff members continue to monitor turbidity and other water-quality indicators as the system returns to normal operations.
Residents are being instructed to boil water used for drinking, cooking and oral hygiene for at least two minutes before consuming it.
If water coming from a faucet appears cloudy, CBU recommends running cold water from a sink or bathtub until the water runs clear.
Water does not need to be boiled for bathing, laundry or other household uses, according to the advisory.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management requires a precautionary boil-water advisory when turbidity reaches the applicable threshold, according to CBU.
The wording of the city's announcement describes the advisory as applying to Monroe County and instructs “all Monroe County residents” to follow the precautions.
The timing and scope distinguish the announcement from the smaller boil-water advisories routinely issued after individual water-main breaks. Bloomington experienced another systemwide precautionary boil-water advisory in August 2024 following a turbidity problem at the treatment plant. During a subsequent Utilities Service Board discussion, officials characterized that countywide event as unusual and discussed the need to improve public notification procedures.
The Bloomingtonian is treating the advisory as current based on the time the announcement was transmitted and the dates contained within the advisory itself.
CBU said customers whose current contact information is on file will receive direct notifications.
Residents with questions can contact City of Bloomington Utilities at 812-339-1444 or [email protected].
CBU said it will issue another announcement when the boil-water advisory is lifted.
