Boil Water Advisory to continue overnight for parts of DC

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) -- DC Water said the Boil Water Advisory would continue overnight into Wednesday for people in Northeast who experienced a loss of water pressure.

DC Water said the situation affected nearly 2,800 customers, many of whom were without water as of 12:25 p.m. The areas impacted included River Terrace, Mayfair, Eastland Gardens, Kenilworth, Deanwood, Central Northeast and Anacostia Park.

As a result of the outage, River Terrace Education Campus, Houston Elementary, Thomas Elementary and Ron Brown High School were closed on Tuesday. A spokesperson for District of Columbia Public Schools told DC News Now they are expected to be open on Wednesday.

DC Water said it received a number of calls from customers in upper Northeast, east of the Anacostia River, who were experiencing low or no water pressure. It was looking into the cause and working to restore service to the impacted customers.

The Boil Water Advisory was done out of precaution because it wasn't known what the quality of the water in the system was. DC Water said customers should boil water before drinking it even after service was restored.

“I couldn’t wash up because we ain’t have no water this morning,” said River Terrace customer Angela Eldridge. “I talked to my landlord and he said he is trying to find out what’s going on and he would let us know when we get our water back on.”

The advisory will stay in place until follow-up testing shows the water is safe to drink (without boiling it).

In an update Tuesday night, DC Water said crews have been able to temporarily reroute water through a different transmission maun to serve customers without service. The water was slowly being recharged as they slowly increased pressure to homes, businesses and schools in the area.

DC Water added it had isolated a water main believed to be the source of the leak and will continue working throughout the night into Wednesday to make the repairs.

DC Water provided the following guidance for people in the affected areas:

• Discard any beverages and ice made after midnight on Tuesday, December 3, 2024.
• Run cold water until clear (if discolored) prior to boiling.
• Run cold water for 2 minutes if known sources of lead are present prior to boiling.
• Bring water to a rolling boil for 1 minute and let it cool.
• Store cooled water in a clean, covered container.

Cooled, boiled water or bottled water should be used for:

• 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

*Do not use home filtering devices without boiling the water.

DC Water advised customers to search their address on its interactive map or call the 24-Hour Command Center at (202) 612-3400 to determine if they are impacted.