A water treatment plant power outage and subsequent malfunctions in Richmond on Monday have left multiple jurisdictions under boil water advisories.

The city of Richmond, in partnership with the Virginia Department of Health, issued an immediate boil water advisory on Monday, urging all residents to conserve water and boil it before consumption until further notice.

Since some water is finally flowing in many Richmond homes, the boil water advisory the city issued Monday afternoon now actually matters for residents. Why it matters: After three days or more without running water,