“Dear PoPville,
Pepco. This is for my one bedroom apartment upstairs. Just as bad for the apartment downstairs.”
What is a “normal” bill for a one bedroom apartment during past summers?
Utilities
2100 Block of N Street, NW
Thanks to David for sending these amazing photos from last night’s (6:30pm Wednesday) Pepco electrical substation explosion in West End: (more…)
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photo by Fritz Myer
“Dear PoPville,
‘Tis the season to complain about Pepco, but maybe something will be done if we all make a lot of noise? I keep my house between 75 and 78 degrees, and we received a bill for over $440! We do our best to be energy savvy this time of year (little to no cooking in the house, it’s grilling season!) we keep our blinds closed, all those kinds of things.
The charges are insane, (more…)
photo by Eric P.
Thanks to DC Water for the explanation:
“We saw the post about LFDC digging and thought we’d let you know what’s happening. What this resident has seen is actually normal. When our LFDC contractors are working in a neighborhood, they will do work at each home multiple times. First, we do a test pit to verify if the line is lead and if it is lead we return again to replace it. We’ll do a temporary restoration on the yard when we complete the work and return later to do the final restoration work. Multiply that by every house in the neighborhood that signs up for LFDC and you get an idea of why our contractors are so frequently in the neighborhood. Most importantly, all of these steps are a critical part of our work to verify lead service lines and provide free replacements.
Here’s a summary outlining the construction schedule so you can see what’s entailed.
The process, visit by visit: (more…)
“Clockwise from top): Overflow area where combined wastewater and stormwater are released into Piney Branch; Work to construct tunnel shaft underway; Construction next to sewer overflow area where tunnel will begin; and Crews working on construction site”
Update from DC Water:
“DC Water broke ground on the Piney Branch Tunnel, the final major tunnel in our Clean Rivers Project. This work will help keep sewage and trash out of local waterways and make Rock Creek, the Potomac River, and the Chesapeake Bay cleaner for our community.
When we finish the Piney Branch Tunnel, it will hold at least 4.2 million gallons of rainwater and wastewater during heavy storms. Instead of overflowing into Piney Branch, that water will go to the Blue Plains Water Resource Recovery Facility, where it will be treated. (more…)
“Dear PoPville,
I live on 1200 block of Penn Street NE and Washington Gas has been doing construction since October. While this has been disruptive (very loud and limited parking), they’ve seemingly disappeared but there is water actively leaking out of their construction for over a week now.” (more…)
“Dear PoPville,
So my block 14TH Street NE between Constitution Avenue and C Street has been without water since 9:30 am (and will be until 5:30 p.m.) but DC Water forgot to actually notify us, so no one was prepared. Other nearby streets were notified but not our block. A DC Water guy told me at 10:45 am that it was a “mistake” for our block to get shut off and that it would return quickly, but it never returned.
Plot twist: (more…)
From DC Water:
“** Advisory is Lifted as of 9:00 p.m., June 6, 2026**
DC Water has lifted the precautionary Boil Water Advisory for parts of Upper Northwest DC after testing confirmed the water is safe to drink. All customers in the impacted area may use tap water for all purposes after following the instructions provided below. (more…)
From DC Water:
“The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) is issuing a Boil Water Advisory today for some customers in Northwest DC that experienced a loss of water pressure on Friday, June 5, 2026, impacting 4,970 customers.
This is a precautionary notice to customers in the impacted neighborhoods to boil water prior to ingesting, due to water of unknown quality in this localized area of the system. Do not drink the water without boiling it first. This advisory will remain in place until follow-up testing confirms the water is safe to drink.
DC Water advises customers to search their address on the interactive map at dcwater.com or call the 24-Hour Command Center at (202) 612-3400 to determine if they are in the impacted neighborhoods of this advisory. Customers in the impacted area should boil water used for drinking and cooking. Customers outside this area can continue normal water use. (more…)
photo by Diane Krauthamer
From DC Water:
“Dry Conditions, above-average temperatures, and below-normal water levels in the Potomac River have prompted a Drought Watch by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ (COG) Drought Coordination Committee. A drought watch is triggered when the entire DC region experiences moderate drought, with current conditions some of the most significant the region has experienced in more than 20 years and underscoring the need for Wise Water use and conservation.
DC Water is monitoring conditions in coordination with COG, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Washington Aqueduct which supplies the District’s drinking water, and other regional water utilities. While DC Water continues to provide safe and reliable drinking water service to customers across the District, prolonged dry weather puts added strain on regional water supplies. That’s why it’s important for everyone to begin taking measures to conserve water. (more…)