WDBJ7 Roanoke News and Weather NRV Lynchburg Danville | UPDATED: Giles County residents advised to boil their water
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The Giles Co. PSA treatment plant
Parts needed to repair the damage caused by the power surge have been ordered.UPDATED: Monday 7p.m.
The tap water in Giles County is safe to drink again. The county had been on a "boil water" advisory since the beginning of September.
The county notified News7 the damaged electrical equipment at the water treatment plant is fixed as of Monday.
Untreated water has been flushed from the system, and all of the tests required by the Department of Health have been successfully completed.
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UPDATED: Tuesday 6:15 p.m.
It will likely be more than a week until Giles County residents will be able to take a sip of their water without worry.
That advisory went out Monday afternoon.
A part needed to fix the problem is supposed to arrive Wednesday.
But tests and pumping clean water to all customers might take until late next week.
School buses sat idle in Giles County Tuesday.
Classes were canceled because of water trouble, for now everyone must boil their water.
But Steve Akers, part owner of the New River Grille, says bad water didn't dampen his lunch business.
"We picked up bottled water, ice, canned drinks and the Health Department was here before we opened up this morning to kind of go over what we needed to do and we were already set up for it. So that was good. We were ready to go," says Akers.
Interim Director for the Giles County Public Service Authority, Roger Houck, says a power surge affected some equipment at the water plant on Saturday, but there was enough clean water stored up to hold off on the boil water advisory until Monday.
Now, the water is being treated only with chorine and not filtered until the problem is resolved.
"The potential is there for stomach problems if you drink the water, so we're not recommending drinking it unless it's boiled, says Roger Houck wih Giles County PSA.
The damage made it impossible for plant workers to control how much water is pumped into the filter system, which could result in serious, long term damage of the plant's system.
"We could be down a month or longer getting parts for the whole plant, this is making the best of a bad stiutation," says Houck.
Giles County Schools will reopen Wednesday.
They're bringing bottled water into the schools.
They'll also be making alternative meals so they don't have to use the water in food preparation.
UPDATED: Tuesday 1:15 p.m.
Giles County schools will reopen Wednesday. Superintendent Terry Arbogast says the school system is bringing in bottled water. Water fountains and icemakers will be shut off until a boil water advisory for the county is lifted. Arbogast also says the school division will bring also alter the cafeteria menu.
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A boil water advisory will likely remain in effect in Giles County until the middle or end of next week. That's the latest estimate from the county public service director.
Roger Houck says a power surge destroyed some equipment at the treatment plant. That means water can't be filtered at the plant.
The boil water advisory affects all customers of the Giles County Public Service Authority including those in Pearisburg, Narrows, Pembroke, Rich Creek and Glen Lyn.
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UPDATED: 9:30 p.m
Here is the latest press release from the Giles County Public Service Authority:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - AUGUST 31, 2009
On August 30, 2009, the Giles County Public Service Authority water treatment plant experienced a power surge which significantly damaged electrical equipment within the plant. Staff, technicians, and contractors have been on site since the incident occurred; however, it is anticipated that this problem will not be corrected until September 3rd. Given that storage within the system is limited to 2 to 3 days, it is necessary to pump untreated water into the system in order to maintain service and capacity for fire fighting. This water will come from the same well as is currently used, but will not be run through the treatment plant. This change requires that we issue a boil water notice. Although it is anticipated that the system will be operational on September 3rd, the Virginia Department of Health requires that two consecutive days of successful bacteriological testing be completed prior to lifting the boil water notice. Therefore, we anticipate that the boil water notice will not be lifted for at least one week. For further information call Roger Houck at 540-921-2525 or 540-626-4368.
More information on boiling water, using water for bathing, washing dishes and other household purposes can be obtained from the Virginia Department of Health website:
http://www.vdh.state.va.us/drinkingwater/documents/BoilWaterFAQs.pdf
UPDATED 6:00 p.m.
All customers of the Giles County Public Service Authority should boil their drinking water until further notice.
This includes customers in Pearisburg, Narrows, Pembroke, Rich Creek and Glen Lyn.
The PSA says there was a malfunction at the water treatment plant. The boil advisory may be in effect for up to a week
Here is the press release from Giles County:
NOTICE TO CUSTOMERS OF THE GILES COUNTY AND TOWNS OF PEARISBURG, NARROWS, PEMBROKE, RICH CREEK AND GLEN LYN WATER SYSTEMSBOIL YOUR TAP WATER
Failure to follow this advisory could result in stomach or intestinal illness.
The Virginia Department of Health in conjunction with the Giles County Health Department, are advising customers of Giles County and the Towns of Pearisburg, Narrows, Pembroke, Rich Creek and Glen Lyn water systems to use boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking purposes as a safety precaution. This precaution is necessary because an equipment malfunction at the Giles County PSA water treatment plant will result in unfiltered water entering the drinking water system.
DO NOT DRINK TAP WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST
Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, beverage and food preparation, and making ice until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water. Boiling is the preferred method to assure that the tap water is safe to drink. Bring all tap water to a rolling boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water.
If you cannot boil your tap water:
We will inform you when you no longer need to boil your water. To address this problem we have ordered parts to make repairs at the water treatment plant. We anticipate resolving the problem within 2 to 3 days, but the boil water advisory may be in effect for a week or longer.
There is no need to boil water for bathing or showering. Adults, teens, and older children, can shower or bathe, though they should avoid getting water in the mouth or swallowing the water. Infants and toddlers should be sponge bathed. No special soaps are necessary.
Care should be taken to prevent water from getting into deep open or post-surgical wounds. Consult your physician or health care provider for wound care instructions.
More information on boiling water, using water for bathing, washing dishes and other household purposes can be obtained from the Virginia Department of Health website:
http://www.vdh.state.va.us/drinkingwater/documents/BoilWaterFAQs.pdf
For more information call:
GILES COUNTY: Giles County Administrative Offices
315 North Main Street
Pearisburg, VA 24134
(540) 921-2525
TOWN OF PEARISBURG: Ken Vittum, Town Manager
112 Tazewell St.
Pearisburg, VA 24134
(540) 921-0340
TOWN OF NARROWS: Buddy Kast, Town Manager
131 Center Street
Narrows, VA 24124
(540) 726-2423 or 726-3020
TOWN OF PEMBROKE: Mary Kay, Administrative Assistant
500 Snidow Street
Pembroke, VA 24136
(540) 626-7191
TOWN OF RICH CREEK Roger Jones, Town Manager
140 Spruce Street
Rich Creek, VA 24147
(540) 726-3260
TOWN OF GLEN LYN Howard Spencer, Town Manager
215 Houston Lane
Glen Lyn, VA 24094
(540) 726-7075
Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.
