MARIETTA, Ga. — A boil water advisory is in effect due to a water main break that happened on Friday evening in Marietta, officials say.

Marietta Water said the water main break happened on Lawrence Street near Covington Avenue, which caused parts of the water system to drop to ‘dangerously low levels.’

Officials say to protect the public from a potential health hazard, customers in the affected area or those nearby that have experienced water outages and/or low water pressures are advised to use only boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking, cooking, or preparing food. There are also precautions to take when giving drinking water to pets.

Here’s how you properly boil water:

• Heat water until bubbles come quickly from the bottom of the container
• Continue heating the water for one minute once it begins to boil
• Remove the water from the heat source and allow to cool before use

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention encourages residents to use boiled water for:

• Drinking
• Brushing teeth
• Washing food and preparing food and baby formula
• Making ice
• Drinking water for pets

Customers will be notified immediately when the advisory is lifted.