If the water supply is shut off overnight, what is the first step for the morning?

• A. Close the establishment and notify the regulatory authorities
• B. Open the taps to check for flow
• C. Resume service with bottled water without notifying authorities
• D. Call a supplier for bottled water

Answer: (A)

When the water supply is shut off, the immediate priority is to protect public health by stopping operations and informing the authorities. Closing the establishment signals that service cannot continue until water safety is confirmed, and notifying regulatory authorities ensures you receive official guidance on whether a boil-water advisory is required, how to document the outage, and when it’s safe to reopen. Opening taps to check for flow could waste water and doesn’t restore a safe supply, and resuming service with bottled water without notifying authorities would bypass required communications and could violate regulations. Arranging bottled water from a supplier may be needed, but the regulatory notification comes first to guide the rest of the response.