The Town of Wayne held a joint press conference with state officials on Wednesday to address the ongoing water issues in the county.
Following the vandalism of a transformer at an East Lynn mine power substation last week, which resulted in an oil leak, Wayne Water customers have been unable to use their water for a full week.
The same day, state and local officials began the process of flushing the town’s water system.
Jason Frame, director of the Office of Environmental Health Services, said they are doing everything they can to keep the community protected.
“We’re doing everything we can to make sure folks are protected against any possibilities of health effects from this situation,” Frame said.
Brad Wright, chief inspector of the Department of Environmental Protection, said there are five in-stream collection points in place to collect leftover oil from the stream.
“There’s still a considerable amount of material in-stream; there are five collection points in the stream right now,” Frame said. “You’ll see crews out there working to free material from the banks to get it to flow to those collection points.”
Wright says the lowest collection point is upstream from the water intake, and they “have not seen any material leave past that collection point since Friday.”
A preliminary report from the state health department indicated the presence of oil in the town water supply. Frame says the flushing process could take three to four days, and residents should continue to follow the “Do Not Consume” order until further water testing is completed.
Mayor Danny Grace said they will continue providing drinking water to the community at Town Hall, while the “Do Not Consume” order remains in effect.
This report was produced thanks to a partnership between Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications and West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
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