Customers were seen piling bottles into their trolleys in response to a Boiled Water Notice issued by Dubbo Regional Council.

The alert warned residents at about 3300 properties the tap water was unsafe for consumption, brushing teeth and even rinsing salad vegetables.

At Woolworths Riverdale, store manager Gai Hicks has put in an emergency order of bottled water, scheduled to arrive and hit the shelves on Tuesday.

“They’ve just come and wiped us out,” she said of customers on Monday.

The Riverdale supermarket had ordered between six and eight pallets of bottled water, Ms Hicks said.

The Woolworths at Delroy Park Shopping Centre had ordered about six pallets, she said, while at Orana Mall the Woolies was expecting about 10 pallets.

“We’ll have plenty of water,” Ms Hicks said.

“And if people want to order large quantities we can order it for them.”