Water Outage Plan for New Jersey Child Care Centers and Schools

Published November 9, 2026 · A Clear Alternative Water, Pennsauken NJ, since 1991

When a child care center or school in New Jersey loses water or gets a boil water notice, the first job is to stop children from drinking or washing with water that may be unsafe. Then switch to safe drinking water, keep handwashing and toilets working, and tell parents and your licensing or health officials what is happening. State rules already spell out part of the response. When a child care center's water tests high for lead or copper, the center must stop using its drinking water sources, provide bottled water for drinking, use bottled water for food preparation only with the local health official's approval, and notify parents. A licensed potable water hauler can fill an on-site tank so sinks, toilets and cleaning keep going while the problem is fixed. A Clear Alternative delivers certified potable water to schools and child care centers in all 21 New Jersey counties, 24 hours a day. Call 1-888-577-8088.

What New Jersey Requires From Child Care Centers

New Jersey's Manual of Requirements for Child Care Centers, N.J.A.C. 3A:52, requires every licensed center to show that it provides safe drinking water. Centers on a public community water system certify that in writing and test faucets for lead and copper. Centers on their own well need a Certification of Acceptable Drinking Water Quality from the NJDEP Bureau of Safe Drinking Water. The NJDEP's environmental guidance for child care centers explains both paths.

If lead or copper results come back elevated, N.J.A.C. 3A:52-5.3 says the center must:

1. Immediately stop using all drinking water sources in the building
2. Provide bottled water for drinking
3. Provide bottled water for food preparation, with approval from the local health official
4. Notify the parents of the children in attendance

Those steps make a good starting template for any water emergency. Safe water for drinking and food comes first, then communication with families and officials.

When the Water Goes Off or a Boil Advisory Hits

Schools and child care centers are on the short list of sensitive users that water systems try to reach first. The NJDEP's water use advisory guidance says water systems should notify critical and sensitive users, including schools and daycares, within one hour. Make sure your water system has a working phone number and an after-hours contact for your building.

Under a boil water advisory, the standard instruction is to bring tap water to a rolling boil for one minute and let it cool before using it for drinking, cooking and other potable uses. That works at home. It is hard to do at the scale of a center with dozens of children, so most programs switch to bottled water for drinking and an approved alternate supply for everything else. During a full outage with no pressure at all, there is nothing to boil, and toilets and sinks stop working. Your decision then is whether you can stay open safely.

The First Hour

• Shut off or cover drinking fountains and bottle fillers, and post a notice at sinks.
• Move to bottled water for drinking, formula and snacks.
• Call your licensing contact or local health department and ask what they need from you to stay open.
• Tell parents what happened, what you are doing and when you will update them.
• Call for delivered potable water if the outage or advisory may last more than a few hours.

What Delivered Water Can and Cannot Cover

A tanker of certified potable water can fill a clean, food-grade storage tank placed next to the building, or an existing tank or cistern on site. With a pump, that tank can feed handwashing sinks, toilets, cleaning and laundry. It can also support a kitchen if the health department approves it. The water comes from an approved public supply and is hauled in a tank used only for potable water.

What it does not replace is the decision by your licensing office or health department. Rules for drinking water and food preparation during an emergency can be stricter than for handwashing and flushing, as the lead and copper rule above shows. Ask early, before the first delivery arrives, which uses they will allow. For more on the food side, our restaurant water outage checklist covers the state food code rules that apply to licensed kitchens.

We deliver up to 6,200 gallons per trip and can come back on a set schedule, so the tank does not run dry during a long repair.

How Much Water You Need

The best guide is your own water use. Look at your water bill or meter readings for a typical school day. That figure, plus a little extra for cleaning, is a realistic daily target. If you have no records, count the toilets, sinks and kitchen fixtures and talk it through with us. We can suggest a tank size and a delivery schedule based on how many people are in the building and how long the outage may last.

Also think about where the tank will go. It needs a level spot close to the building, room for a tanker to park within hose reach, and a way to connect to the plumbing or to portable handwashing stations. Our guide to filling a cistern or holding tank with potable water covers tank basics.

Centers and Schools on Their Own Wells

Many rural child care centers, private schools and camps in New Jersey run on an on-site well. For them the emergency is usually a pump failure, a positive coliform test, a high nitrate result or a drought that drops the water table. The NJDEP guidance requires coliform and nitrate sampling within 90 days before a child care license application, so a surprise result can come up at renewal time. While the well is being repaired, disinfected and retested, delivered water can keep the building running. A pump replacement works the same way at a school as at a home; see our guide to temporary water during a well pump replacement.

Build the Plan Before You Need It

Write down the following and keep it with your emergency plan:

• Your water source and the 24-hour number for your water system, or your well contractor
• Your licensing contact and local health department phone numbers
• A supply of sealed bottled water for a day of drinking and formula
• Your typical daily water use from the bill or meter
• A level spot for a temporary tank and a clear driveway for a tanker
• The plumbing tie-in or the portable handwashing stations you would use
• A parent message template for boil advisories and outages
• The number for a licensed potable water hauler, 1-888-577-8088

Facilities that plan ahead can usually stay open, or reopen sooner, when the water fails. Our boil water advisory guide for New Jersey businesses has more on reading and responding to an advisory.

Serving Schools and Child Care Centers Across New Jersey

A Clear Alternative has been family-run since 1991 from 9230 Collins Ave in Pennsauken, and we hold New Jersey potable water hauler license #0704582. We deliver to all 21 counties, from Sussex and Warren in the north to Cape May in the south. See our emergency water delivery page, commercial water page and service areas.

When to Call A Clear Alternative

Call us as soon as you know an outage or advisory may last more than a few hours, or when you are writing your emergency plan and want a delivery partner ready. Tell us your address, the number of people in the building, your typical water use and where a tank could go. We answer 24 hours a day at 1-888-577-8088, or you can request a quote online.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a child care center stay open during a boil water advisory?

It depends on your licensing office and local health department. Most centers that stay open switch to bottled water for drinking and an approved alternate supply for handwashing and toilets. Call them early and follow their direction.

What does New Jersey require if a child care center's water tests high for lead?

Under N.J.A.C. 3A:52-5.3, the center must stop using all drinking water sources in the building, provide bottled water for drinking, use bottled water for food preparation with the local health official's approval, and notify parents.

Can delivered potable water be used for drinking?

The water is certified potable and hauled in a dedicated potable tank. Whether you may use it for drinking or food preparation during an emergency is up to your licensing office or health department, so ask them first.

How quickly can you deliver to a school?

We take emergency calls 24 hours a day across all 21 New Jersey counties. Timing depends on location and demand, so call 1-888-577-8088 as early as possible.

How big a tank does a school or day care need?

Start with your daily use from the water bill or meter. We can suggest a tank size and a refill schedule based on that figure, the number of people and how long the outage may last.