COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. — After 33 years in the business, Vincenzo's Italian Restaurant part-owner Lino Covello knows how to adapt, which is why he is playing it safe even after Colonial Heights officially lifted its multi-day boil water advisory.
"We’re going to stick with the bottled water and the bottled drinks for tonight and once we close up we’ll clean everything out, turn everything back on and when we come back Monday we’ll be back to normal with the ice," Covello said.
The City of Colonial Heights lifted the advisory around 1:20 p.m. Saturday after the Virginia Department of Health received a second negative test of the water supply, confirming it is safe to drink.
The advisory was initially issued on Wednesday after a 50-year-old, 16-inch water main burst deep in the woods underneath a creek.
While the water is now safe, officials are asking residents and businesses to take several crucial steps before resuming normal use. This includes flushing plumbing systems, running all outdoor taps for approximately 10 minutes, replacing filters in cartridge filtration systems, and disposing of any ice made during the advisory.
Covello stopped ice production as a precaution when the advisory began and relied on bottled beverages to keep his restaurant running smoothly.
WATCH: Colonial Heights under boil water advisory after 50-year-old water main ruptures
Despite the setback during a holiday weekend, Covello said he prefers to look at the situation with a glass-half-full attitude.
"Our customers are so understanding. They’ll probably eat without drinking water. They’re still going to come in, so we’re good to go," Covello said.
Covello also praised the city's communication and response efforts throughout the week.
"Honestly, the city has been doing a great job about updating us about what’s going on, what to do, what not to do, so I’ve had no problem," Covello said. "The city has been great and actually giving out water to residents."
Since the pipe burst, the city has helped residents by setting up water distribution sites. Crews handed out water at the technical center for a third consecutive morning on Saturday.
"A lot of folks have come through today, we’ve had a lot of great feedback from our community, gone through most of our water already, so we’re glad we were able to provide that service," Colonial Heights Department of Public Works and City Engineering Director Andrew Barnes said.
Barnes noted the timing of the break made the situation slightly more difficult.
"An incident like this is going to be challenging anytime it happens, but especially as you get into a long weekend or a holiday weekend so we’re doing everything we can to get our water back up for our customers," Barnes said.
Colonial Heights officials urged residents, businesses and restaurants to complete these crucial steps before using their taps to ensure they receive fresh water:
- Run all outdoor taps for approximately 10 minutes to bring fresh water from the water main to the property.
- Replace filters in cartridge filtration systems before consuming water.
- Run a regeneration or backwash cycle for water softeners.
- Run all indoor cold-water faucets for one minute, starting with the faucet closest to the water line entry, then moving through lower-level faucets and finally upper-level faucets.
- Clean faucet aerators.
- Run the hot water in a bathtub for 10 minutes to replace water in the hot water heater.
- Dispose of any ice that may have been made while the advisory was in effect.
Anyone with questions or needing additional information can call the city at -804-520-9300 or email publicworks@colonialheightsva.gov.
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