Outdoor water use has been prohibited, officials said, and violators may be reported to the city’s 311 hotline.
"Our initial estimates is that this situation could go on for 10 to 14 days as the water system tries to settle," Eric Carter, the Travis County chief emergency management coordinator, told county commissioners on Tuesday.
Businesses, especially restaurants, coffee shops and bars, have been hit hard by the boil-water advisory.
Preparing food and keeping facilities — and employees’ hands — clean is tedious work, said Corona Coffee Company owner Naiman Rigby, who plans to close early to help save water.
Rigby also has been giving bottled water to postal workers and teachers who come in, he said.
University of Texas-Austin student Benjamin Cohen said campus water fountains have been covered with trash bags.
He and his roommates are using bottled water, as well as boiling and refrigerating tap water.
They’ve also turned off their ice maker and aren’t doing laundry or running the dishwasher.
"We don’t want to use excess water," he said, "and also want to make sure the water we use is safe."
Nearby San Antonio also is stepping in to help, sending a 5,000-gallon tanker full of clean water to help Austin residents, officials there said.