| Advertisement |
|
|
The Virginia Department of Health is asking citizens to avoid recreational use of the Smith River near Martinsville because the Martinsville Sewage Treatment Plant has been overwhelmed by recent heavy rains.
The specific area is downstream from the Martinsville Sewage Treatment Plant, which is on Wind Dancer Road.
The drinking water supply has not been affected, according to the Department of Health.
“Unfortunately, heavy rains have temporarily overwhelmed the city’s wastewater treatment system,” Doctor Gordon Green, of the West Piedmont Health District wrote in a news release. “But fortunately, this is the time of year when few, if any, folks are wading and swimming in the affected area. There is no evidence that local public drinking water has been affected, and the nearest downstream public drinking water intake is approximately 50 river miles away. We have notified all the potentially-affected parties and simply ask folks to avoid recreational contact with the water in this area until the water subsides and the potential contaminants are reduced to safe levels.”
Here is the news release from the Virginia Department of Health:
(Martinsville, Va.) – The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) advises area citizens to avoid recreational use of the Smith River - that is, swimming and wading - in the area downstream from the Martinsville Sewage Treatment plant on Wind Dancer Rd. in Martinsville. VDH has placed signs in the affected area to alert river visitors.
“Unfortunately, heavy rains have temporarily overwhelmed the city’s wastewater treatment system,” said Gordon Green, M.D., director of the West Piedmont Health District. “But fortunately, this is the time of year when few, if any, folks are wading and swimming in the affected area. There is no evidence that local public drinking water has been affected, and the nearest downstream public drinking water intake is approximately 50 river miles away. We have notified all the potentially-affected parties and simply ask folks to avoid recreational contact with the water in this area until the water subsides and the potential contaminants are reduced to safe levels.”
The precautionary advisory stems from the recent high levels of rainfall across southwest Virginia, which raised water levels in the region’s rivers and waterways and increased runoff into storm drains and wastewater treatment plants. This relatively sudden surge of water flowing into the City of Martinsville’s wastewater treatment plant on the Smith River overwhelmed the system’s capacity, resulting in wastewater that is chlorinated but otherwise untreated being diverted into the river.
This wastewater “by-pass,” estimated to be from 1 to 1.5 million gallons, began late Sunday, January 13 and ended early Monday, January 14, but began again. VDH has received no estimate on when it will end.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is working with the Henry County Health Department and City of Martinsville to monitor the situation and take appropriate steps to restore the water quality.
For more information, contact the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality at 540-562-6700 or the West Piedmont Health District, Virginia Department of Health at 276-638-2311.