Update: October 6, 3:50 pm:
At this time, crews continue to flush water lines and disinfect storage tanks.
The next step in restoring clean drinking water involves completing two rounds of water system testing, with each round taking up to 24 hours. The boil water notice is expected to remain in effect through the upcoming weekend, Oct. 12-13.
Please continue to boil water for cooking and consumption. The water remains safe for showering, bathing, cleaning, and washing clothes or dishes by hand or in a dishwasher. Once the boil water notice has been lifted, information will be shared here, social media, and alert systems.
Water testing data from the New River Valley Regional Water Authority is available online.
FAQs are available at the Virginia Department of Health.
October 4, 2024: Test Results
The New River Valley Regional Water Authority is committed to transparency and will make ongoing water testing data publicly available. Community members are encouraged to review these results as ongoing work continues to ensure the safety of our water supply. Again, the boil water notice is still in effect. View water testing results: nrvwater.org/water-quality/monthly-water-report
While we realize the water testing reports are technical, in an effort of transparency the New River Valley Regional Water Authority wanted to share the comprehensive water test results with the public. One thing you may note on the bacteriological report on page two in the results columns is that an "A" indicates the absence of bacteria and a "P" indicates the presence of bacteria. The Oct. 4, 2024, bacteriological report can be found here: https://nrvwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Bacteriological-Testing-as-of-10-4-2024.pdf
October 4, 2024 at 3:45 p.m.: Water Testing Update
Flushing of water systems has begun. You may see water flowing from fire hydrants and flushing valves throughout the Towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg, on Virginia Tech’s campus roads and greenspaces, and throughout Montgomery County. During the flushing process, water in buildings may be cloudy. This is temporary.
Flushing the system is the initial step in a multi-step process to provide clean drinking water to our community. Crews have been working around the clock and will continue to do so in order to provide this essential service.
The boil water notice will remain in effect until water sampling tests conducted by the Virginia Department of Health and the New River Valley Water Authority confirm that the water is safe to drink. While it remains uncertain how long this will take, one should prepare for the boil water notice to remain in effect through October 12 or 13.
According to the VDH, there is no need to boil water for showering, bathing, cleaning, and washing clothes or washing dishes by hand or with a dishwasher. Care should be taken to prevent water from getting into deep open or post-surgical wounds. Consult your physician or health care provider for wound care instructions.
October 3, 2024 at 5:30 p.m.: Water Testing Update
Boil Water Notice remains in effect
The New River Valley Regional Water Authority is committed to providing safe drinking water to our community.
Boil Water Notice and Related Testing – What Additional Testing Is Being Done Now?
Before the current boil water notice (https://nrvwater.org/) can be lifted, the Authority will conduct between 150 to 200 dedicated water sample tests across the regional system. These tests will focus on ensuring all water quality parameters meet safety standards and we anticipate the results will confirm high-quality water. In the coming days, multiple tests will continue to be carried out in the water distribution systems and storage facilities across the Authority’s service area to ensure the safety of the entire water system.
Standardized Testing Background – Why Do We Regularly Test the Water?
As part of ongoing efforts, the Authority performs rigorous testing of water quality on a daily basis to ensure compliance with all Virginia Department of Health – Office of Drinking Water (VDH-ODW) requirements.
The Authority uses online instrumentation to continuously monitor water quality parameters, and additional tests are performed at various points throughout the treatment process to verify the accuracy of these measurements. Various tests are conducted daily, some are twice per day and some are every two hours. On average, more than 60 water quality tests are conducted each day, supplementing the continuous monitoring from online instrumentation.
The Authority has a separate in-house laboratory that is certified by the Commonwealth of Virginia through the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services (DCLS). In the lab, an average of 135 bacteriological tests are performed each month on the water treated at the facility and at specific site locations throughout the Towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg, Virginia Tech and the Montgomery County Public Service Authority. These test results are reported to VDH-ODW so they can monitor the performance of the system per treatment requirements established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).
View the Authority’s water treatment process (https://nrvwater.org/water-quality/treatment-process/authority-water-treatment-process/) for more information.
Public Access to Results – Who Can See the Test Results and How?
The Authority is committed to transparency and will make ongoing water testing data publicly available. These test results will be posted on the New River Valley Water Authority’s website at https://nrvwater.org. Community members are encouraged to review these results as ongoing work continues to ensure the safety of our water supply.
The Boil Water Notice remains in effect. We thank the public for their patience and cooperation during this period and offer assurance we are taking every step possible to provide safe drinking water.
While flushing takes place, water customers may experience discoloration in their water, but they should simply follow the boil water notice for cooking and consumption. Again, the water is safe for showering, bathing, cleaning, and washing clothes or washing dishes by hand or with a dishwasher. We continue to stay consistent with VDH-ODW guidance.
For further information or questions, please contact the New River Valley Regional Water Authority.
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The path and time frame to deliver clean water to residents of Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Virginia Tech and Montgomery County has come into focus. The boil water notice will continue at least through next weekend (Oct. 12-13).
The New River Valley Regional Water Authority has been working diligently around the clock to restore normal operations in the wake of Hurricane Helene. All water samples tested since October 1 at the water treatment facility demonstrate water quality meets or exceeds Virginia Department of Health - Office of Drinking Water (VDH-ODW) requirements. However, water quality tests throughout the entire water distribution and storage systems must pass established VDH-ODW standards before the boil water notice can be lifted.
The next step is to flush all local systems. That process will begin upstream in the Town of Christiansburg, continuing downstream in the Town of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech, and then Montgomery County. We anticipate that sequential process will begin sometime today, October 3.
In addition to flushing each system, per VDH-ODW requirements water storage tanks must be disinfected before final samples can be taken. To ensure continuous water capacity throughout the process, the disinfection of tanks must be staggered. In other words, all the tanks cannot be drained, cleaned and disinfected at the same time. This process takes a minimum of 74 hours per tank, which means the boil water notice will continue at least through next weekend (Oct. 12-13).
While flushing takes place, water customers may experience discoloration in their water but they should simply follow the boil water notice for cooking and consumption. Again, the water is safe for showering, bathing, cleaning, and washing clothes or washing dishes by hand or with a dishwasher. We continue to stay consistent with VDH-ODW guidance. We will provide additional information later today, including water test results.