'Customers Don't Need To Boil Water': Anne Arundel County Officials

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — The Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works is letting its customers know that they do not need to boil their water. The announcement comes after the City of Baltimore issued a required boil water advisory for portions of west Baltimore on Monday.

"Anne Arundel does not currently purchase any water from the City of Baltimore," Anne Arundel County officials posted to Facebook. "Comprehensive upgrades to our system have led to full autonomy of our water needs, eliminating the need to supplement our water supply with purchases from the city for the last several years."

According to Anne Arundel County officials, no water from the City of Baltimore has entered the Anne Arundel County public water supply system.

The Baltimore City Department of Public Works said it recently sampled several locations in the neighborhoods of Sandtown-Winchester and Harlem Park where total coliform and E. coli contaminants were identified in the water.

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.

DPW said it's working to find the source of contamination, remediate the problem, and is flushing the system continuously to introduce turnover into the system. In addition, the Department is performing leak detection, valve assessments, and increasing the chlorination in the area.