DC Water officials advised nearly 5,000 Northwest Washington residents to boil water before use after a large water main broke Wednesday.
A 20-inch main ruptured, which resulted in a loss of water pressure and “water of unknown quality in this localized area of the system,” the statement said.
The boil-water advisory will remain in place until further testing is completed, officials said.
Earlier this year, residents in much of the northern part of D.C. were under a boil-water advisory because of contamination concerns. Officials issued the warning — which they called precautionary — after a loss of water pressure, which can permit potentially harmful pathogens to enter the water distribution system.
Residents were cleared to drink tap water two days later, after D.C. Water said test results confirmed the water met water quality safety standards.
