WASHINGTON (AP) - A public psychiatric hospital in the nation’s capital may soon have running water again.

The district’s deputy mayor for health and human services, Wayne Turnage, tells WTOP-FM that St. Elizabeths Hospital’s water operations should be fully operational by Friday. The district-owned facility has been without running water since Sept. 26 when the bacteria that can cause Legionnaires’ disease were found in its water system.

Staff and patients are relying on bottled water and running water substitutes, such as body wash spray. An attorney for patient advocacy group Disability Rights DC says the lack of potable water has been difficult. Andrea Procaccino told The Washington Post last week that some patients hadn’t been able to shower for days.

Despite the lack of potable water, the hospital has continued to admit patients.

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Information from: WTOP-FM, http://www.wtop.com

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