Boil Your Tap Water

Notice to Customers of The Towns of Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Virginia Tech and Montgomery County Public Service Authority Waterworks

The New River Valley Water Authority has issued a boil water notice effective immediately, September 30, 2024, for all customers throughout Montgomery County.

This boil water notice will remain in effect until safe drinking water test results occur from water sampling tests conducted by the Virginia Department of Health. All water samples collected will meet state and federal drinking water standards before the “boil water” notice will be lifted. At this time, it is unknown when the boil water notice will be lifted. However, please plan on boiling your water for minimum of 48 hours.

Attention Montgomery County’s public water system(s) are the only ones in the New River Health District affected by the Precautionary Boil Water Advisory.

Instructions for boiling water:

• Prior to drinking water from the PSA’s water system, bring the water to a rolling boil for approximately one minute. This will help destroy bacteria that may have contaminated the drinking water.
• Caution: Use extreme caution with boiling water to avoid burns. Allow the water to cool before using.
• Hot tap water is not a substitute for boiling water. Water from a water heater is not intended for drinking.
• Additionally, if your freezer has an automatic icemaker, discard all the ice cubes and turn off the icemaker until the “boil water” notice is lifted.

If you cannot boil your water: 
If you do not have access to gas or electricity to boil water, the NRV Regional Water Authority has provided the following water purification instructions:

• 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%. Public health officials recommend adding 8 drops of bleach (about ¼ teaspoon) to each gallon of water.  The water should be stirred and allowed to stand for at least 30 minutes before use.
• Water purification tablets may also be used by following the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Potable water is available at the following locations:  local grocery and convenience stores.

Learn more at the Virginia Department of Health.

View the New River Valley Regional Water Authority notification.

The Virginia Department of Health in conjunction with the Montgomery County Health Department, and NRV Regional Water Authority Water System are advising residents to use boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking purposes as a safety precaution. This precaution is necessary due to historic flooding on the New River creating challenging water quality conditions and finished water turbidities exceeding 1.0 NTU.

Failure to follow this advisory could result in stomach or intestinal illness.

DO NOT DRINK TAP WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST

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 (1) minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water. Use caution boiling water; let water cool before attempting to move container to avoid spills, scalds and burns. Boil amounts of water that you can safely handle.

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%. Public health officials recommend adding 8 drops of bleach (about ¼ teaspoon) to each gallon of water. The water should be stirred and allowed to stand for at least 30 minutes before use.

· Water purification tablets may also be used by following the manufacturer’s instructions.

· Potable water is available at the following locations: local grocery and convenience stores.

We will inform you when you no longer need to boil your water. To address this problem we are adjusting our treatment additives. We anticipate resolving the problem within the next 24 hours.

For more information call:

Waterworks contact Caleb Taylor, 155 Walton Rd. Radford, VA 24141, 540-639-2575

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.