Early in the morning of a very cold January 25, IES, the firm subcontracted to manage Middleburg's water and sewer treatment facilities, officially informed the Town of "low or no water conditions" throughout the village.

A valve in the Town's Stonewall Water Treatment Plant had become stuck open during the night, most likely as a result of power failures, and had failed to re-close. As a result, water ran "in a loop through the plant instead of serving the Town's supply."

As a result of the resulting low pressure in the Town's water system, the Virginia Department of Health issued a "boil water notice until water samples could be tested for bacteria."

Because there was no breach or break in the system, there was high confidence that there was little or no chance of contamination. Testing confirmed that the water was safe and the "boil water notice" was lifted around 9 AM on Sunday, January 27.

On Friday and Saturday, the Town helped local restaurants continue to serve customers, with an emergency delivery of some 240 one-gallon jugs of water and roughly two tons of ice.