DC psychiatric hospital goes weeks without drinking water

 It’s been nearly four weeks since bacteria that can cause Legionnaires’ disease was found in the water system of a public psychiatric hospital in the nation’s capital.

News outlets report staff and patients at St. Elizabeths Hospital have gone without running water since the bacteria was discovered during a routine test on Sept. 26.

The district’s deputy mayor for health and human services, Wayne Turnage, released a statement Thursday that said the bacteria had survived cleanup efforts. He said the system would be treated again Friday and throughout the weekend, promising water service would return when safe.

Officials say no one has been sickened by the bacteria, but hundreds of staffers and patients have since had to rely on bottled water, portable showers and meals from an outside vendor.