Stop affected food operations when lost water creates an imminent health hazard and notify Maricopa County Environmental Services. Its adopted FDA 2017 rules allow an unaffected area to remain operating and an authority-approved emergency plan in specified outage circumstances. Obtain required approval before resuming discontinued operations; restored pressure alone does not settle food safety.
What should the manager check first?
Record when water was lost and whether the utility reports an advisory. Identify the affected work:
- Employee handwashing and working restroom facilities.
- Food washing, preparation and any ingredient water.
- Utensil washing and sanitizing.
- Ice, beverages and other automatically supplied equipment.
- Cleaning activities needed to maintain a sanitary operation.
Tell the county what is affected, what is still available and what controls you propose. Ask whether an approved emergency plan covers this event. Having bottled water on hand does not establish that every function can continue; the Food Code's alternative-water provisions still require an adequate approved supply for the operation.
For a failed sink alone, use the handwashing-sink response. Restroom availability has separate employee and public-use questions, covered in operating with restrooms out of service.
What should you tell the plumber and utility?
Give the address, suite, start time and affected areas. Check whether adjacent suites also lack water without operating unknown shared valves. Use the commercial emergency checklist to organize access and contacts.
If an advisory is issued, follow its actual restrictions. CDC distinguishes boil-water, do-not-drink and do-not-use notices. Those instructions differ; the restaurant boil-water page explains the food-operation decision rather than just a household boiling method.
What establishes readiness to reopen?
Food Code Section 8-404.12 requires regulatory-authority approval before resuming operations discontinued under the hazard rule or otherwise according to law. Document repaired service, applicable advisory clearance, equipment restart and the functions the authority requires verified.
Keep the repair record separate from permission to reopen. Restaurant health-inspection requirements identify the plumbing functions to verify. Review hot-water failure separately if cold pressure returns but usable hot water does not.