A boil water advisory was issued for thousands of customers in Northeast D.C. after reports of low water pressure on Tuesday, and it's expected to last until Friday, according to DC Water.
More than 2,700 water customers east of the Anacostia River were affected, and many had no water service at all, DC Water said Tuesday.
DC Water finished repairs on the broken water main and restored service Wednesday, but the boil water advisory is still in effect.
The impacted neighborhoods include River Terrace, Mayfair, Eastland Gardens, Kenilworth, Deanwood, Central Northeast, and Anacostia Park. You can check an interactive map or call 202-612-3400 to see if you're affected.
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Out of an abundance of caution, customers in the impacted area should boil water used for drinking and cooking until DC Water tests show there are no contaminants in the water and all tests are complete.
DC Water must run two days of tests to confirm there's no contamination, so the boil water advisory is expected to continue until at least Friday.
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"The advisory will be lifted when tests on two consecutive days show no bacteria are present," DC Water said.
The Deanwood Community and Aquatic Center and Kenilworth Recreation Centers will open Wednesday at 9 a.m., which is three hours late, due to the outage. Their pool will be closed until at least Thursday.
River Terrace Education Campus, Houston Elementary, Thomas Elementary and Ron Brown High School were closed Tuesday due to the outage.
Why is there a boil water advisory in Northeast D.C.?
DC Water said they received several phone calls from customers on Tuesday morning about low or no water pressure.
Due to the loss of pressure in the distribution system, water from outside of the pipes could have been let into the system. This could lead to contaminants entering the system.
DC Water said in a statement that crews are working to fix the leak suspected of causing the drop in water pressure. They said they have been able to temporarily reroute water through a different transmission main to service customers experiencing low or no pressure.
While DC Water has no information on whether the water was contaminated by this incident, the company released the advisory as a precaution so they can test the water.
What should you do in a boil water advisory?
DC Water is asking customers to do the following if affected:
- Discard any beverages and ice made after midnight on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024.
- Run cold water until clear (if discolored) prior to boiling.
- Run cold water for two minutes if known sources of lead are present prior to boiling.
- Bring water to a rolling boil for one minute and let it cool.
- Store cooled water in a clean, covered container
Customers can use cooled, boiled water or bottled water for the following:
- Drinking
- Brushing teeth
- Preparing and cooking food
- Washing fruits and vegetables
- Preparing infant formula
- Making ice
- Washing dishes by hand
- Giving water to service animals and pets
DC Water says when water service is restored, customers should not drink the water without boiling it first.
The water advisory is anticipated to be lifted after two days of testing. If the tests show that there are no bacteria in the water, all customers can continue normal water use on Dec. 5 at the earliest.
'It's hard without water': Impact on residents
The outage came as a shock to many D.C. residents. Kimberli Plummer says she noticed the outage around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.
“You know, it's a game changer, she said. “You know, we can't bathe, I can't cook, you know, we can't flush the toilet. So, yeah, it's kind of devastating right now,”
Store owner Emanuel Tesfay told News4 this has impacted all aspects of his business.
“We can’t use the bathroom. As you see, We don’t have no coffee. We were using gallons of water to clean the place, so It’s hard without water,” he said.
With DC Water saying the water won’t be ready for normal use until Thursday at the earliest, residents are trying to figure out how to navigate the next few days.
“We’re really not prepared right now, because, you know, we didn't expect the water to go out,” Plummer said. “So, you know, we're going to have to make a game plan to prepare for this.”
Although the water turned back on at Tim MacDonald’s home on Wednesday, he's still being cautious about water usage.
“I’ll go out somewhere for dinner tonight instead of cooking in the house,” MacDonald said.
As for those four DCPS schools that are impacted, a spokesperson for the school system told News4 it's not clear yet how the schools will be impacted by the outage Wednesday.
CORRECTION (Dec. 12, 2024, 3:03 p.m.): A previous version of this article referred to the broken water main affecting residents in Northwest D.C. rather than Northeast.
