MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Thousands of Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) Water customers will no longer have to boil their water after a water main break that happened Thursday night in parts of Montgomery County.
Officials urged some Montgomery County residents to boil their water before consumption following a water main break on a 12-inch pipe. The pipe runs along MacArthur Boulevard in the Cabin John and Glen Echo area, according to officials.
The WSSC issued a Boil Water Advisory (BWA) on Thursday amid the contamination. According to officials, around 2,200 customers were impacted by the incident.
The WSSC's water system lost pressure after the water main broke and officials say there was an increased risk of water contamination when this happens. Officials say that WSSC Water collected water samples from the impact area.
Two consecutive rounds of analysis were performed to test if the water was safe for its customers and the results confirmed, just two days after, that it is safe to consume.
According to the WSSC Water spokesperson, the BWA was lifted Saturday at 4:33 p.m.
WSSC Water has advised customers to take these final precautions:
- Run all cold-water lines for five minutes.
- If you have a single-lever faucet, set it to run cold water.
- Begin with the lowest faucet in your home or business and then open the other faucets one at a time, moving from your lowest floor to your highest.
- After five minutes, turn off your faucets in reverse order, from highest to lowest.
- You should also flush your refrigerator’s water lines.
- All ice made since the precautionary BWA was put in place on Thursday evening (8/11) should be thrown out, as well as the next three batches.
- Ice maker containers should be wiped clean with a solution of two tablespoons bleach to one gallon of water.
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