The alert first came into place on Wednesday afternoon following an equipment failure at the plant.

The issue was fixed on Wednesday night but some of the 'unsafe' water had already made its way into the reservoir.

NSW Health will make the final determination on when the alert can be lifted, but until then residents are advised to bring their water to a rolling boil.

It should then be placed in a container with a lid and put in the refrigerator.

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That water is to be used for consuming, washing fresh produce such as fruit and vegetables, brushing teeth and providing pets with drinking water.

The boiled and then cooled water should also be used for brushing teeth and providing water to pets.

The water may appear to be clean, but staff at the plant have said it has just been diluted by the reservoir and the water being produced before the equipment failure was fixed was too cloudy and therefore classed as 'non-compliant'.

Heavy inflows into Quipolly Dam following recent rain events had contributed to the equipment failure.

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