DC Water repairs Northwest water main break; boil water advisory impacting businesses

Makea Luzader
·4 min read

UPDATE 5/9, 6 p.m. — DC Water said in a post on X that the first water samples have been tested and came back negative. Crews expect to get the second round of tests Friday morning and will lift the boil water advisory if they are all clear.

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — DC Water said Thursday morning that crews repaired a water main break that prompted a boil water advisory for thousands of customers Wednesday.

The advisory went into effect May 8 after DC Water found the break in upper Northwest. It said that part of a 115-year-old cast iron pipe split.

Water main break causes Boil Water Advisory, impacts thousands across Northwest DC

In an update, posted on the X platform around 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, officials said repairs had been completed.

(Image courtesy of DC Water)
(Image courtesy of DC Water)

On Wednesday, roughly 4,800 DC Water customers in Upper Northwest Washington were warned to boil water from their faucets before doing anything with it, including drinking, brushing their teeth, or washing fruits and vegetables.

Fresh broccoli, beets, leeks, and lettuce were mostly missing from shelves Thursday afternoon at the Tenleytown Whole Foods Market store.

Employees and customers said the produce section’s water misters were to blame.

Customer Carol Maloney owns Well & Wonder Yoga Studio a few blocks up the road on Wisconsin Avenue NW near Fessenden St NW. She went to the store after the advisory was issued Wednesday.

“I had to run to the grocery store and then right when I was there, they were covering up all of the produce, anything that had been sprayed. I thought, ‘Wow, this is really serious. It’s going to cost us a lot of money,'” Maloney said.

Whole Foods was also running low on bottom-shelf bottled water brands Thursday afternoon, while some more costly premium bottled water brands were still on the shelf.

Malone’s yoga studio keeps water out for patrons. She says they normally filter water from the faucet with a pitcher, but now she’s buying bottled.

“It really does give you a new sense of appreciation for just having good, clean water come out of the faucet that you can do whatever you want with, because now all of a sudden you’re second guess yourself or you’ll think twice about what you’re doing with the water. But as a business owner, you definitely don’t want to put people at risk,” said Maloney.

The Chick-Fil-A location near the Whole Foods store was closed due to the advisory Thursday. The Panera location next door was operating “to-go only” Thursday and closed their restrooms to customers.

(Courtesy: DC News Now/Randi Bass)

Other businesses near the yoga studio at the intersection of Wisconsin and Fessenden reported they were not having issues, saying the advisory seemed to impact some but not others.

Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza said their business was not impacted by the water main break.

Managers at the pizza shop said as temperatures rose on Wednesday, so did business and demand for cold, clean drinking water for customers and neighbors who stopped by the restaurant.

Neighbors in the area, some of whom were also not impacted by the advisory, said they were still boiling their water out of caution.

Officials conducted tests on the water supply Thursday. Until those tests were complete and cleared the water in affected areas for consumption, the boil water advisory remains in place. This is the list of places under the advisory:

  • Upper Chevy Chase

  • Ft. Reno

  • American University

  • Spring Valley

  • Friendship Heights

  • Westover Place

  • Wakefield

  • North Cleveland Park

  • Palisades

  • Wesley Heights

  • Foxhall Crescent

  • Foxhall Village

  • Hawthorne

  • Barnaby Woods

  • Chevy Chase

DC Water said that the earliest the advisory will be lifted is Friday.

Until the advisory is lifted, people should:

  • Throw away any beverages or ice made without boiled water after 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 8.

  • If your water is discolored, run cold water until it is clear before boiling.

  • Run cold water for two minutes if there are sources of lead before boiling. If possible, you can filter your water for lead first and then boil it.

  • Bring water to a rolling boil for one minute before using it.

  • Store any cooled, boiled water in a clean, covered container.

DC Water said that you should use boiled water or bottled water for drinking, brushing teeth, preparing food, washing fruits and vegetables, preparing infant formula, making ice and giving water to pets.

Officials reminded people that they cannot use a filtering device instead of boiling water during this advisory.

You can find more details and updates on DC Water’s website.

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