LEWISBURG, W.Va. — The state Bureau of Public Health gave the City of Lewisburg the go-ahead Monday night to reopen the intake at its water plant after test results showed there was no contamination from a weekend diesel spill.
More than 12,000 had gone without system water since Sunday when the reserve supplies ran out. The intake was closed Saturday evening as a precaution after diesel got into Anthony Creek, a tributary of the Greenbrier River, following a truck wreck on Route 92.
The intake reopened at 7 p.m. Monday. Officials said it would take several days to get all customers back to normal water pressure. The customers with homes in elevated areas would likely take the longest.
Lewisburg Mayor John Manchester said earlier Monday on MetroNews Talkline it would take 48 hours to fully supply the system which covers 125 miles of pipeline.
“There are few pockets in the system, low-lying pockets that still have water, but they’re few and far between,” Manchester said.
Bulk water distribution points were set up at the State Fairgrounds in Fairlea and at Island Park in Ronceverte. Three 7,000-gallon tanker trucks being used at the sites were being continuously re-filled in White Sulphur Springs. Residents were being asked to bring their own containers.
“It’s a pain in the neck, but people can get water,” Manchester said of the fill-up locations.
Officials with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Greenbrier County Office of Emergency Services, the Greenbrier County Health Department, the City of Lewisburg and other emergency agencies have been part of the response.
Dr. Rahul Gupta, commissioner for the West Virginia Bureau of Public Health, told MetroNews lessons learned in last year’s Freedom Industries chemical spill on the Elk River were being applied during the response to the Greenbrier County incident.
“Every event, we learn from and we move forward being that much stronger,” Gupta said. “Some of these things are difficult and they happen, but what’s important is how do we respond to them and, so far, what we’re seeing is a tremendous amount of teamwork.”