The city is doing their best right now but most people don't have the bandwidth to make good decisions or be informed right now. There are so many posts ranging from cluelessly uninformed to confidently incorrect right now that it's concerning.

Here's what's going on with the water:

1. There is a large amount of sediment in the reservoir where our water comes from. The treatment plant has no way to filter this water. Running the sediment-filled water through the equipment would destroy the equipment.

2. They reconnected the main bypass line 2 days ago. This is actually the "backup" line and there are 2 other primary and secondary lines adjacent to it. There are probably countless leaks that branch off from these main lines and they need to be fixed. To be fixed they need to have water pressure on them.

3. They haven't explicitly said this but common sense tells us that they are sending out unfiltered, UNSAFE, and unclean water to pressurize the lines for repair purposes and likely so that people can flush their toilets

4. This water is NOT SAFE TO DRINK and it is NOT SAFE FOR YOUR APPLIANCES. Some people are reporting a heavy chlorine smell so maybe they are adding chlorine and caustic as normal. Everyone in the effected areas has been warned about their hot water heater but I'll reiterate that YOU SHOULD TURN OFF THE POWER AND WATER TO YOUR HOT WATER, AND TURN OFF ANY OTHER WATER-CONSUMING APPLIANCES.

5. As for toilets, besides sediment buildup in the tank, there are valves and choke-points inside the plumbing of your toilet. Just dump the water into the bowl like you have been. There's a shutoff valve where the water line goes into your toilet, usually a knob located on the floor behind your toilet.

Hope this helps