The City of Parkersburg will provide water to some parts of Vienna in response to high levels of a carcinogenic chemical in the town’s drinking water.
The Parkersburg Utility Board’s Assistant Manager Eric Bumgardner says the lower-third of Vienna, also known as the town’s commercial district, had its water switched over to Parkersburg’s water supply Wednesday.
This will remain in effect until a permanent fix is in place.
Bumgardner also says there will likely be an announcement made Thursday when customers in that area can safely use their tap water.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency established a new C8 limit last week for public drinking water and issued a drinking water advisory for Vienna and Martinsburg. C8, also called PFOA, has been used to make Teflon.
The EPA recommends C8 exposure of 0.07 parts per billion or lower. Test results show that C8 concentration in Vienna water has been above 0.1 parts per billion.
In Martinsburg, the plant contaminated with C8 was shut down last week, and all residents were switched over to a larger, second plant. The Martinsburg Water Department says the cause of the contamination is still under investigation.