Turns out it wasn’t the cloudy water running through its pipes that provided the biggest lingering concern for the Arlington government on July 3.
The water, though somewhat discolored coming out of the tap for 12 hours, was never a threat to public health. More disconcerting? It took well over an hour once a precautionary boil-water alert was announced for that information to be pushed out to the public’s cellphones.
“The communications could have been better, and we’re working on that,” County Manager Mark Schwartz told Arlington County Board members July 23.
“We’ve instituted some training” among public-information staff to avoid a repeat, he said.
But the culprit wasn’t entirely, or perhaps even primarily, human error. The delay in issuing an alert – estimated by Schwartz at 90 to 120 minutes – was due to a 30-year-old software system that required information to be input manually before it could be disseminated, he said.
While Arlington lagged, other regional agencies with issues related to the water being distributed from the Washington Aqueduct were sending out their own advisories, leading to a disjointed communications message the evening of July 3. Schwartz said he has been in communication with officials with the Army Corps of Engineers and the District of Columbia government to do better, coordination-wise, in the future.
A large algae bloom coupled with low Potomac River water levels on July 3 left staff at the Dalecarlia Water Treatment Plant in the District of Columbia with two options – lower the pressure to maintain water quality, or keep pumping at near-normal levels despite resulting higher levels of turbidity in the water that was sent out to the public.
The latter course was chosen, and while many residents in the Washington Aqueduct’s service area found their water cloudy and stinky, it remained within quality limits prescribed by the Environmental Protection Agency.
“At all times, the water was safe,” Schwartz said.
The boil-water advisory was issued July 3 at 8 p.m. and lifted about 12 hours later. Among the areas impacted was the entirety of Arlington except a sliver on the western part of the county, centered around Wilson Boulevard at the Fairfax County line, which has a different water-supply source.
“I’m pretty sure this particular problem won’t happen again,” Schwartz said. “The question is, what is next?”
The county manager said he will provide a more detailed after-action report after County Board members return from their summer hiatus.
