Aurora, Illinois Water Outage Today

Aurora tap water system, by the numbers

Federal records show a single public water system behind the taps in Aurora, with about 183,000 people on its mains. Customers know it as City of Aurora Water Production; the name on your bill is the one to call.

Where Aurora's tap water comes from

Tap water in Aurora starts as surface water. Aurora takes it from rivers, lakes or reservoirs and runs it through treatment before it reaches the mains. Treatment points named in EPA's facility list include Tp 14-Surface Water Treatment Plant. After treatment the water is held in 8 storage tanks and reservoirs, which is the buffer that keeps taps running for a few hours after a pump or main fails.

The outage angle. Because the water is drawn from open surface sources, it has to be filtered and disinfected continuously. A plant problem therefore hits everyone at once, unlike a main break, which only dries up the blocks on either side of the damaged pipe.

Why the water goes out in Aurora

Water outages are local, so the likely cause depends on weather, pipe age and the grid. For Aurora, these stand out.

• Freezing weather. Aurora sees about 136 days a year with a low at or below 32°F, and 48 days at or below 20°F. The coldest morning in the 2015 through 2025 record came on January 31, 2019. The longest stretch with highs that never rose above freezing ran 19 days, ending March 2, 2015. Frozen service lines and meters cause single-address outages, while ground frost and thaw cycles crack older mains and produce the street-wide breaks.
• Storm-driven power loss. Thunderstorm wind, hail and tornado reports in Kane County number 407 since 2015. Pump stations and treatment plants that depend on ComEd run on the electric grid, so a storm that downs power lines can lower water pressure even when no pipe is damaged.
• Flooding and heavy rain. NOAA logged 33 flood, flash flood and heavy rain reports in Kane County from 2015 through 2026, and 5 days a year bring an inch of rain or more. Floodwater can undercut pipe crossings, swamp pump stations and overload treatment plants, and a notice to boil water often follows when it enters the system.
• Digging and utility work. Street projects, fiber installation and excavation near buried pipe regularly cut mains in Aurora with no warning, usually on a day with perfectly ordinary weather.
• Planned shutoffs and a problem at one address. Valve replacements and new connections are announced ahead, often with door hangers. If neighbors have water, check your own shutoff valve, meter and pressure regulator before calling.

How weather strains the Aurora water system

Main break season in Aurora runs from late fall into early spring, with the coldest stretch around December through February.

The figures are reanalysis estimates for the center of Aurora, not readings from a single weather station, so treat them as a guide to how often each kind of weather occurs rather than as official records.

Aurora boil water notices and EPA compliance record

Since 2015, EPA's record for Aurora shows no health-based violations. It also lists 1 monitoring or reporting entry that is about paperwork rather than water quality, such as a missed sample or a late report.

Most recent entries, all monitoring or reporting:

• January 2023: A missed or late monitoring or reporting requirement (other)

Boil water notices in Aurora are precautions, not findings. When pressure drops, City of Aurora Water Production tells affected customers to boil water until two rounds of lab tests are clean, a process that normally takes 24 to 48 hours after service is restored, under oversight from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA).

Lead service lines and old plumbing in Aurora

The most recent 90th-percentile lead result filed for Aurora is 24 ppb (2025). The federal action level is 15 ppb, so that result is above it.

32.1% of occupied homes in Aurora were built before 1970, and lead service lines and solder stayed legal until the federal ban in 1986. After any outage that disturbs the pipes, run the cold tap 30 seconds to 2 minutes before drinking, and ask City of Aurora Water Production about its lead service line inventory.

Restoration times for water outages in Aurora

Most repairs of an ordinary main break in Aurora take half a day once the crew is on site. Bigger mains, deep bury and busy roads stretch that to a day or more.

For a break that affects many customers, City of Aurora Water Production usually posts an estimated restoration time. When you call, ask the dispatcher what the crew has told them.

Emergency water storage for Aurora households

The average household in Aurora has about 2.9 people, so FEMA's minimum of one gallon per person per day comes to roughly 9 gallons for three days and 41 gallons for two weeks.

• Your water heater tank holds 30 to 50 gallons of clean water. Turn off the power or gas to it first, then drain from the valve at the bottom.
• Fill a tub or large containers early for toilets, cleaning and handwashing, and store drinking water separately in clean bottles.

Water systems near Aurora, side by side

Water outage pages for nearby cities

Naperville, IL · Elgin, IL · Joliet, IL · Chicago, IL