This is terrible but somewhat prophetic. Chatham city fathers and the county supervisor may want to consider this an omen...coming on the heels of VB's resolution re: uranium. Contamination from uranium mining and milling would be far more difficult to remedy...not only for Chatham but for a couple of hundred miles of water and hundreds of thousands of folks.
By John Crane
Register & Bee staff writer
Published: December 4, 2008
UPDATE 8:47 a.m.:
Chatham town clerk David Cothran said water services had been restored to all houses in the area, although some were still reporting low water pressure. He said officials are aware of one more leak, and are working to fix it.
Cothran said residents should still boil water before using it, as the health department will have to test the water to make sure its potable. It will take some time before water pressure is fully restored and the health department has a chance to test it.
Crews worked diligently, Cothran said, and most residents had water by midnight last night.
“The crews did just one heck of a job,“ he said. All 14 staffers were at work, and Yates Contractors provided some extra help. “They did a magnificent job,“ Cothran said.
UPDATE 7:30 a.m.:
The Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Department says as long as residents boil water before drinking it, it is safe to use.
A ruptured mainline and two other breaks in Chatham’s waterline has left at least 2,000 customers without water and the town in a state of emergency.
“No residents or businesses will have water until the break is fixed,” Chatham Town Manager Mike Jones said Wednesday evening. The incident also leaves the fire department with no water to fight fires, he said.
The town shut down its water supply to prevent consumption of contaminated water.
The town and Pittsylvania County have jointly declared a state of emergency for Chatham and its surrounding area, Jones said. A state of emergency allows the area to access state resources if needed, he said.
Old infrastructure and freezing temperatures were factors in the break that started Wednesday morning, Jones said.
The town manager said he didn’t know how old the lines are, but noted the infrastructure “outdates almost everybody in the town.”
Repairs were still being done at 8 p.m. Wednesday and Jones said he didn’t know when service would be restored.
The town, which is the county seat, has lost at least 300,000 gallons of water.
Chatham Hall, Hargrave Military Academy, the Pittsylvania County Jail, Green Rock Correctional Center, the Chatham Diversion Center, county offices and businesses in Tightsqueeze are among the facilities now without water.
County Administrator Dan Sleeper said the county jail will be supplied water from the State Office of Emergency Services and inmates will drink bottled water.
The break in the mainline is within site of Chatham’s water purification plant at Cherrystone Creek Bottom, Jones said. The rupture is similar to a hole in a garden hose close to the spigot, he said.
Water was flowing into a breach, which can cause contamination, Jones said.
Town water officials detected the problem at about 8 a.m. Wednesday when water-tank levels declined. Employees and officials conducted a walking search of the water lines, finding the rupture three hours later in heavily wooded and isolated area off Moses Mill Road, Jones said.
The town notified the Virginia Department of Public Health and Environment, which is testing the water. Once the repairs are complete, the system will be filled and flushed again due to line contamination, Jones said.
A boiled-water advisory will be in effect for 24 hours after the line is flushed, he said, noting the advisory means residents will be asked to boil their water before consumption.
It’s the second incident affecting Chatham’s water supply this year. High levels of turbidity, or dirt, from storms in May made it difficult for the town’s plant to filter and produce water.
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