West Virginia American Water Story Archives - Page 13 of 16

WVAW Changing Carbon Filters at Charleston Plant

West Virginia American Water is beginning the long process of changing water filters that were in place during the Jan. 9 chemical spill that contaminated drinking water for more than 300,000 people.

Water company spokeswoman Laura Jordan says the process begins Monday and may take eight weeks or longer. She says only two of the water plant’s 16 filters can be changed each week while maintaining service.

Residents have expressed concern that these filters have not already been changed. Some have demanded they be changed in letters to the company.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CWECeINFYQ

In February, water company president Jeff McIntyre told the Legislature changing the filters would be both costly and unnecessary.

At that time, lawmakers told him changing the filters would go a long way to boost the public’s trust.

WVAW Discontinues Bulk Water Distribution

West Virginia American Water announced Monday they would be discontinuing their bulk water distribution service two days early.

In a press release, the company said the forecast is to blame for the early end to the service which was planned to end Wednesday. Bulk water tankers in previous weeks have been unable to distribute water when temperatures reach freezing.

WVAW said test results at all points throughout all of the distribution zones are coming back below the more rigorous 2 parts per billion standard. That standard is 500 times below the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested 1 part per million level deemed acceptable for use.

The CDC believes there is no evidence to suggest adverse health effects to any population, including pregnant women, below the 10 parts per billion level, according to the state Bureau for Public Health. WVAW said their system has been testing below that level in all locations since Feb. 20.

WVAW President Jeff McIntyre said the company will continue to respond to customer complaints of odor, but only to address the smell and not any health concerns.

“Now that we no longer have detectable levels of MCHM throughout our distribution system and have assisted Queen Shoals PSD to also achieve this in their system, we have concluded our systematic flushing operations in the Kanawha Valley,” he said in a release.

The credits customers are to receive for the flushing process are still being applied to bills. The company said the credits are marked in a line entitled “Flushing Credit” and will be reflected on bills received from mid-February to mid-March, depending on when bills were generated.

Bulk Water Distribution in Kanawha Co. for February 28 – March 2

Kanawha County and City of Charleston have announced Bulk Water Distribution for Friday, February 28 through Sunday, March 2.

West Virginia American Water will have Bulk Water Tankers and Buffaloes available through Sunday, March 2nd at the following locations:

Big Lots Parking Lot-Patrick Street-Charleston
Old Big Sandy Lot – Cross Lanes
Crossings Mall – Elkview
Walmart Parking Lot – Quincy
Across from Post Office – Clendenin

According to the Kanawha County Commission, tankers and buffaloes will be deployed each morning around 9:00 a.m. and will be pulled each evening, starting at approximately 5:00 p.m. due to low temperatures. West Virginia American Water is providing the bulk water.

WVAM Using More Rigorous Water Testing Standard

A news release from West Virginia American Water Thursday said all points of testing throughout the water distribution system show levels of MCHM below 10 parts per billion.

Crude MCHM is the chemical that leaked from a Freedom Industries site on the Elk River contaminating the drinking water of 300,000 West Virginians in 9 counties.

The 10 ppb threshold was established by a state interagency team based on the measuring capabilities of multiple laboratories used during the response to the Jan. 9 spill.

That level is 100 times lower than the 1 parts per million level deemed safe by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

West Virginian American Water President Jeff McIntyre said in the release the company has continued to test their water since the spill, and beginning Feb. 14, they have been working with labs to measure levels as low as 2 parts per billion to address the odor issues.

“We share our customer’s concern and anger over the impact the Freedom Industries spill has had on our
community,” McIntyre said. “We know that odor has added to their concern, regardless of levels, and we will continue to flush our distribution system to help address this issue.”

The company said test results at the treatment plant are below 2ppb and only 4 samples throughout the distribution system have shown results above that level.

McIntyre said the additional efforts are solely to address odor issues and are not related to any concern regarding the health thresholds set by the CDC.

Test results of both the raw water in the Elk River and the treated water coming from the Charleston treatment plant have been below the 1ppm level since Jan. 18, McIntyre said.

The release also said:

West Virginia American Water customers may have or will shortly see credits on their bill. These credits are marked in a line entitled Flushing Credit and will be reflected on bills received from mid-February to mid-March depending on when meters were read.

Water Distribution for Kanawha Co.: Monday, Feb. 10- Friday, Feb. 14,, 2014

Kanawha County and City of Charleston Bulk Water Sites for Monday, February 10, 2014.

Bulk Water-Bring Your Own Containers

Crossing Mall – Elkview
Walmart Parking Lot – Quincy
Shawnee Park – Institute
Old Big Sandy Parking Lot – Cross Lanes
Big Lots Parking Lot –Patrick Street – Charleston

The tanker at Shawnee Park will not be deployed on Tuesday, February 11 due to a mechanical problem. It will be repaired and then filled in Huntington and redeployed on Wednesday, February 12.

Bulk Water Tankers and Buffaloes will remain at locations each day until 5:00 p.m. due to temperatures which are expected to drop below freezing nightly.

The bulk tankers and buffaloes are being provided by West Virginia American Water Company and are being filled in Huntington and Montgomery. If the tankers or buffaloes run out of water, they will be pulled and then driven to Huntington or Montgomery to be refilled. Due to the travel time and filling time, the bulk containers may be offsite for several hours.

If temperatures are below freezing in the morning hours, it is possible that the deployment of the tankers and buffaloes will be delayed.

Gov. Tomblin Considers In-Home Water Testing

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin is evaluating options to test tap water in people’s homes after last month’s chemical spill.

     After the Jan. 9 chemical spill, officials have based testing at the West Virginia American Water treatment plant and various other spots across the affected region.

     House Speaker Tim Miley and Minority Leader Tim Armstead urged Tomblin to start representative sampling in homes across the affected nine-county area. The two lawmakers suggested making West Virginia American Water pay for the tests. But they want the state to conduct the testing.

     At a news conference, Tomblin said he had no plans to conduct testing for all 300,000 West Virginians affected by the spill, which spurred a water-use ban for days.

     But Tomblin said he would be “happy to consider” taking representative samples.