Boil Water Advisory Lifted, No Contamination Found

Water is again safe to drink out of the tap across Prince George’s County after nearly 100,000 residents in the areas around a water main break in Hyattsville were forced to boil their water since Tuesday.

Thursday night the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission lifted the “Boil Water Advisory” for the affected areas.

The 24-inch water main break occurred on Tanglewood Drive near the alternate US Route 1 in Hyattsville, where crews are on-site making repairs.

The water main was 59 years old, according to the report from the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.

Water tests no signs of harmful bacteria, according to authorities.

While there is no evidence of contamination in the area that was under the advisory, health officials suggest customers who were under the advisory take a few final precautions to flush the water lines in their home or business.

· WSSC suggests customers run all cold water taps for five minutes. If you have a single-lever faucet, set it to run the cold water.

· Begin with the highest faucet in your home or business and then open the other faucets one at a time, moving from your highest floor to your lowest.

· After five minutes, turn off your faucets in reverse order, from the lowest to highest. You should also flush your refrigerator’s water lines.

· Flushing your water lines will lower the risk of potential contamination that is created whenever a water main is depressurized because of a break.

· Customers should also dispose of any ice made since the precautionary BWA was put in place at 7:55 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 2. The next three batches of ice should also be thrown out. Icemaker containers should be wiped clean with a solution of two tablespoons bleach to one gallon of water.

If you experience any problems after performing the above procedures, or if you have questions, call 301.206.4002 or TTY 301.206.8345.