Testing Confirms Water in Impacted Area is Safe to Consume

BALTIMORE, MD. (Friday, September 9, 2022) - Mayor Brandon M. Scott is pleased to announce that Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) has received the all-clear from Maryland Department of Environment to fully lift the boil water advisory that has impacted portions of West Baltimore this week. With the action, residents will no longer be advised to boil water before use.

This announcement comes after consecutive negative tests 24 hours apart from one another confirmed water was safe for consumption.

"With results we received overnight Thursday, DPW has received clearance to lift the precautionary water boil advisories for residents, businesses, and other facilities in impacted areas of West Baltimore," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "I am pleased to know that DPW has found no further evidence of contaminated water and that our residents who were in the impacted area can now rest assured that their water is safe to use."

DPW Director Jason Mitchell echoed Mayor Scott, saying that he is proud of the work done to get through this matter.

"I want to thank everyone impacted by this incident for their patience as we worked to ensure the water that we provide meets stringent health and safety standards that our customers deserve," Mitchell said.

Mayor Scott also acknowledged his appreciation for the effort led by Office of Emergency Management Chief James Wallace as well as each and every person who has worked around the clock this week to support our neighbors living with this crisis.

As the boil water advisory is lifted, residents in the impacted area are still encouraged to take specific measures before resuming consumption of their water, including:

• Run all cold water taps for fifteen (15) minutes.

• If you have a single-lever faucet, set it to run cold water.
• Begin with the lowest faucet in your home or business and then open the other faucets one at a time, moving from your lowest floor to your highest.
• After fifteen (15) minutes, turn off your faucets in reverse order, from highest to lowest.
• You should also flush your refrigerator's water lines
• All ice made since the boil water advisory was put in place should be discarded, as well as the next three batches.
• Ice maker containers should be wiped clean with a solution of two tablespoons bleach to one gallon of water.
• Apartment buildings and multi-story buildings should notify all residents, occupants and users of this procedure and flush starting the closest tap to the water connection moving outward.

As Mayor Scott announced on Wednesday evening, there will be a 25 percent discount citywide on water bills for the next billing cycle to compensate residents for being without water and to help cover the costs of increased usage during the flushing process.

Note: The City will continue its water distribution efforts at the Cherry Hill and Lansdowne sites until 12pm today and at the Harlem Park site until 8pm today and continuing tomorrow from 9am-12pm.