Boil

Jul 01, 2023

Officials at D.C. Water announced Monday that they would begin collecting water samples from four to five locations in several Northeast Washington neighborhoods under a boil-water advisory since late Sunday, to be analyzed at the agency's laboratory, part of an effort to determine when the advisory can be lifted.

Results from the initial round of testing should be available Tuesday, officials said. A second round of tests will be conducted Tuesday. Once there have been two consecutive days of clear samples, D.C. Water will lift the boil-water order that went into place late Sunday after a loss in water pressure. The agency anticipates that will happen on Wednesday.

Officials also said crews will open hydrants in the area to help circulate fresh water through the system.

D.C. Water said the area affected was east of Montana Avenue, west of Eastern Avenue, south of Rhode Island Avenue and north of New York Avenue.

The neighborhoods involved are Fort Lincoln, Woodridge and Langdon. Customers can use this map to determine whether they live in the affected area.

Utility officials said the loss in water pressure occurred after a 12-inch water main on V Street NE between 33rd Street NE and South Dakota Avenue broke Sunday. Crew members repaired the water main overnight and recharged the systems. In addition, officials said, a valve in front of 3400 Commodore Joshua Barney Drive NE also will need to be replaced. Crews will have to shut off water in the area to make the repairs. D.C. Water said customers affected by the shut-off will be notified 24 hours before the outage.

A loss or reduction in water pressure was reported by D.C. Water customers in Northeast Washington leading up to the alert, the utility said. Low pressure may permit bacteria to enter the distribution system, D.C. Water said.

In such circumstances, it is critical to bring water to a rolling boil, then let it cool before use. Ice made before the alert was advised to be discarded.

The utility said customers with questions about water quality should call 202-612-3440, from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

All other questions, it said, should be directed to D.C. Water Customer Service at 202-354-3600 (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), the 24-hour Command Center at 202-612-3400, or the Office of Marketing and Communications at 202-787-2200 (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

Lori Aratani contributed to this report.