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Water contaminated in Chatham

Something is polluting the water in Chatham. 

A large amount of debris and organic matter washed in during last week's storms.  The water plant was shut down Monday to clean it all out.

But town officials say they're still seeing unsafe levels of contamination.  Town officials believe it may be coming from fertilizers, but they've asked Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality to figure out what's polluting the water.

Meanwhile, residents shouldn't notice a difference in the quality of what's coming from their tap.

"We're monitoring the water hourly.  We're making sure that nothing goes into the potable water system that isn't safe for anyone to drink," said Mike Jones, Chatham Town Manager.

Jones says they have enough clean water to meet customer's needs, but it will be scarce until the problems are fixed.

The town is asking residents not to wash their cars or do large loads of laundry until further notice.

"We're sorry we have to do that, because we understand the economic impact, but the owners have been universally supportive of what the town's doing," says Jones.

Residents have been supportive, saying know everything will soon be fixed.