Notice to Consumers of the City of Colonial Heights Waterworks
Important information about your drinking water: Boil Your Tap Water
Failure to follow this advisory could result in stomach or intestinal illness.
The Virginia Department of Health in conjunction the Chesterfield & Colonial Heights Health District and the City of Colonial Heights are advising residents to use boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking purposes as a safety precaution. This precaution is necessary because of the occurrences of zero and/or negative system pressure at the waterworks observed on April 1, 2026, and the likelihood of the presence of E. coli in the drinking water. The City is experiencing a wide-spread water outage due to a watermain break.
*E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. Human pathogens in these wastes can cause short-term effects, such as diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms. They may pose a greater health risk for infants, young children, the elderly, and people with severely-compromised immune systems.*
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 minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water.
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.
- The City will provide supplemental information regarding the availability and distribution of bottled or potable water.
We will inform you when you no longer need to boil your water. To address this problem, we are working to repair the broken watermain. We anticipate resolving the problem within 6-8 hours, although the Boil Water Advisory will stay in effect until the water has been determined to be safe.
For more information, please contact Colonial Heights Public Works at 804-520-9334 or publicworks@colonialheightsva.gov.
*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.*
This notice is being sent to you by The City of Colonial Heights. State Water System ID#: VA3570150.
Date of Notice: April 1, 2026