The 8 million gallons per hour gush due a severe leak in huge Weston pipe on Saturday, forced the Massachusetts officials to ask its 2 million residents of the greater Boston area to boil water prior to drinking it.

It made the authorities to herald a state of emergency, imposing a sweeping order for homeowners and businesses to boil the untreated water for at least a minute now flowing from their taps to avoid the risk of getting sick.

Governor Deval Patrick has asked bottled water companies and the National Guard to assist make purified water available to residents in the affected communities.

The menace took its form around 10 a.m. yesterday when a 10-foot-wide pipe in Weston developed a leak, which further exacerbated in the afternoon and eventually tapped off Greater Boston from the Quabbin Reservoir, where most of its water supply is reported to be stored.

However, The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is revealed to be using its backup system that started with drawing water last night from the Sudbury Reservoir, and can also tap into the Weston and Spot Pond reservoirs if requirement persist.

“In a sense, it’s the most vulnerable point in the system,’’ said Tom Baron, an independent water systems engineer who formerly worked for the water authority.