County Residents Urged to Boil Tap Water for Safety

The following is a notice from the Prince William County Service Authority:

"Notice to customers located in the area of Woodbridge, bounded by Interstate 95 and Route 1, south of Occoquan Road and north of Prince William County Parkway. The area includes the neighborhoods of Marumsco Village, Millwood Estates, Maben Woods, and Ashford.
The Prince William County Service Authority has issued a notice to
boil your tap water. Failure to follow this advisory could result in stomach or intestinal illness.

The Prince William County Service Authority is advising residents to use boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking purposes as a safety precaution. This precaution is necessary because a loss in water pressure in the system due to the extreme weather event of Sept. 8-9.

Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, beverage and food preparation, and making ice until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water. Boiling is the preferred method to assure that the tap water is safe to drink. Bring all tap water to a rolling boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water.

If you cannot boil your tap water:

An alternative method of purification for residents that do not have gas or electricity available is to use liquid household bleach to disinfect water. The bleach product should be recently purchased, free of additives and scents, and should contain a hypochlorite solution of at least 5.25 percent. Public health officials recommend adding eight drops of bleach (about 1⁄4 teaspoon) to each gallon of water. The water should be stirred and allowed to stand for at least 30 minutes before use.

We will inform you when you no longer need to boil your water. To address this problem we are taking necessary actions to place the system in full operation. Additionally, we are taking the necessary bacteriological samples for testing to ensure water quality.
We anticipate resolving the problem by Monday, Sept. 12.

For more information call: Prince William County Service Authority at 703-530-5321.

Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail."