Large algae blooms, concerns over cloudy water led to rare boil advisory for all of DC, officials say

July 4, 2024

A boil water advisory for D.C. and Arlington County, Virginia, has been lifted after over 9 hours, primarily affecting the whole lot of each jurisdictions.

A boil water advisory for all of D.C. and most of Arlington County, Virginia, was lifted Thursday morning — a number of hours after 1000’s of residents had been urged to not drink water from their faucets with out boiling it first.

At a information convention Thursday, officers with D.C. Water and the U.S. Military Corps of Engineers mentioned the boil water advisory was issued late Wednesday night time as a precautionary measure after issues about elevated cloudiness — generally known as turbidity — within the water amid an unusually massive algae bloom within the Potomac River and the reservoir that function the water provide.

Nonetheless, the advisory was capable of be shortly lifted as a result of common testing indicated the water offered by the aqueduct by no means deviated from Environmental Safety Company requirements, mentioned Col. Estee Pinchasin, commander of the U.S. Military Corps of Engineers Baltimore District.

The occasion marked the primary time in almost 30 years {that a} boil water warning was issued for all of D.C. In 1996, additionally on the July Fourth vacation, all residents of the District had been urged to boil their water, which lasted a couple of week, in keeping with D.C. Water.

Along with all of D.C., the nine-hour boil water advisory affected almost all of Arlington County, together with the Pentagon, Arlington Nationwide Cemetery and Reagan Nationwide Airport.

The Arlington County authorities, which issued its own water advisory Thursday, introduced it had additionally been lifted.

The precautionary boil water advisory started Wednesday at round 9 p.m.

The U.S. Military Corps of Engineers, which operates the Aqueduct, mentioned in a statement that it instructed D.C. Water of points with elevated cloudiness within the water provide, which was brought on by elevated algae blooms within the Potomac River.

John Lisle, a spokesperson with D.C. Water instructed WTOP that the advisory was issued out of an abundance of warning to permit hearth emergency personnel entry to water, particularly on an enormous vacation just like the Fourth of July, and to permit sufficient water to flush out of the system.

“Turbidity might be an indicator of (poor) water high quality. And so due to that it was decided that the most secure factor to do was subject the boil water advisory,” Lisle mentioned.

Whereas the cloudy water itself has no well being results, it may possibly intrude with disinfection measures and permit microbes to extra simply develop, D.C. Water mentioned.

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