COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. — The City of Colonial Heights remains under a boil water advisory for the third day after a 16-inch water main pipe split in two on Wednesday morning.
The break caused water pressure to drop, leading to possible contamination in the drinking water system. City Engineer Andrew Barnes said the issue was a longitudinal split along the bottom of a PVC pipe.
"This particular issue was a longitudinal split, so a full-length split along the bottom of a PVC Pipe, kind of a random situation," Barnes said.
In an update shared Friday, city leaders said the boil water advisory will remain in effect until "at least Saturday afternoon."
Late Friday afternoon, CBS 6 learned the results from the first water sample from Colonial Heights has come back, with no contamination found. The second sample results are expected back on Saturday.
While the city waits for the second sample results, residents lined up in their cars to receive free cases of bottled water.
"Right now, it's not bad, it's an inconvenience," Charles White said. "I hope it goes real quick."
A dance group from Virginia State University arrived Friday morning to help distribute the water to the community.
"We chose to come out here and donate some water. We actually have cases in our cars, we'd like to donate as well as hand out cases of water," Samija Thomas said. "Why not make our community a better place? We live here, so why not put more into our community and help out?"
Colonial Heights Schools Superintendent Dr. Travis Ridley said the district has a plan in place to prepare for school on Monday if the advisory is lifted.
"We'll drain all the ice machines, we'll flush out all the water. We'll make sure everything is in operation within the schools once we get the OK from the city that everything is good to go," Ridley said.
The advisory will remain in effect until official notification is provided by the city, which will be shared through the city's website or social media pages.
"Thank you for your understanding as we work to resolve this situation safely and efficiently," Friday's update reads.
The water distribution site at Colonial Heights Technical Center (3451 Conduit Road) is open until 5 p.m. Friday. Each vehicle will receive one case of water.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
