DUNBAR, W.Va. — With over 25,000 West Virginia American Water Company customers experiencing water outages or low water pressure west of Charleston, many residents spent Wednesday afternoon filling containers and hauling water at fill stations.
WVSU was one popular fill station for the Dunbar area. Kimberly Osborne, the VP for University Relations and Operations at WVSU said that it brings back memories of the fill-up station they had in January 2014 following the Freedom Industries chemical spill.
“We were asked to be a location for the water buffalo for the local community,” Osborne said. “We’ve been here before, we’ve done this before. We’ve supported the local community in various ways over the years. We’re a community partner and we’re happy to help.”
Resident Bill Bumpus had several water jugs to fill up. He had been without water in Dunbar since Tuesday evening in Dunbar. He pointed out that it was an inconvenience, but it makes one realize how lucky it is to live in America.
“I don’t know how long it’s going to be, but you have to feel sorry for people overseas that don’t have water,” he said. “It’s an inconvenience to us here but it’s going to get better. Over there it’s not going to get better; they’re without good water. We have to feel fortunate to live in this country and for what we’ve got.”
Osbourne said the station had been popular since putting it in place, and it would continue to be in place for the time being.
“This is supplied by Kanawha County Emergency Services. They’ve taken it away at least once to refill it and bring it back,” she explained. “From past experience it is their practice to provide (water) as long as people need it.”
A broken main line near a pump station caused the outage that left people without water from Dunbar to Buffalo.
Other main fill-up locations include the Winfield Courthouse, Nitro High School and Dunbar Plaza.