Shepherdstown on Boil Water Notice

Updated Jan. 31, 2014: As of 8:45 a.m. today the Shepherdstown, W.Va., boil water advisory has been lifted.

Shepherdstown has joined the ranks of West Virginia communities experiencing water problems this winter.

The town has issued a boil water notice for the next two days due to a water main break that occurred Wednesday.

Water should be boiled for at least two minutes before drinking, according to Bill Myers, Shepherdstown Water Department spokesman. The notice must stay in effect until samples come back ensuring that there is no bacteria in the water.

“It’s just a precautionary measure,” said Frank Welch, public works director.

For students who don’t have the means to boil water, Shepherd is providing assistance.

Tom Segar, Vice President for Student Affairs, said in an email that “Residence Life has placed bottle water in all residence halls affected by the water notice, Gardiner, Turner, Kenamond, Shaw and Thacher Halls.”

According to Welch, the city water will be fine to drink by Saturday.

“It typically takes 24 hours to do a sample, but sometimes the lab likes to rerun it,” he said.

However, students are still able to shower in the dorms during the boil water notice.

So far, the cause for the leak is still unknown although Welch believes it might be because the pipes are old and were installed in the 1930s mixed with the unusually strong cold weather.

“It’s got to be the pipes: We are seeing this happen all over the state. Not just here,” he said.

In Shepherdstown, more than 600 households are affected by the water main break.

Editor’s Note: Chelsea DeMello is a Shepherd University student intern and editor of Shepherd’s newspaper The Picket.