Washington Water Service is advising only the customers shown in the highlighted area on the below map served by the Doe Bay Water Users Association water system to use boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking or cooking until further notice. We are advising you to take this precautionary measure due to a 1″ service line that broke overnight and led to the storage tank draining and a depressurization and outage to a portion of the water system. This has the potential to affect water quality. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms that may have been introduced into the water.
After water service has been restored to your home, but before using water inside, please run your outside faucet until the water is clear. This is to prevent any discolored water from entering your faucets and fixtures and to evacuate air from your service line.
Bring all tap water to a rolling boil for one minute. Let it cool before using. You should use boiled water (or bottled water) for drinking, preparing food, making ice, brushing teeth and washing dishes by hand. If you have pets and are unsure about providing water to them during this advisory, please consult your veterinarian. Tap water is safe for showering, bathing, and for other household uses, including washing dishes in the dishwasher as long as the heat/sanitizing cycle and commercial dishwashing detergent are used.
We have a contractor onsite completing repairs. Chlorine will be used to sanitize all new plumbing parts and materials. Once repairs are complete, the area will be flushed, background chlorine residuals will be re-established, and follow-up bacteriological samples will be collected to confirm that water quality was not affected. We expect to receive sample results from the lab Friday, August 21st.
Crews from our main office will be on hand Thursday to distribute bottled water to customers who would prefer to use bottled water during this advisory. Visit this page for updates and information on the bottled water distribution.
We apologize for the inconvenience. Protecting your health and safety is our highest priority. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call our Customer Service Center. We can be reached toll free at (877) 408-4060 or by email at customerservice@wawater.com.
Thanks to the crew for working yesterday to resolve this. DBWUA emergency line was called around 4:00pm on Tuesday, August 18th. and were notified that a large leak had occurred and was streaming across Roehls Bluff Lane. Nothing was done to alleviate this like shutting off a main at that site. This is why the main tanks completely drained during the evening.
DBWUA – please make sure this never happens again.