BECKLEY, W.Va. — Days after the sub-zero temperatures in West Virginia there are still thousands without water service due to the damage the sudden winter storm left behind.
In Raleigh County, 4,000 to 5,000 homes and businesses are still without water. County Emergency Services Director John Zilinski said it could be next week before the service is fully restored.
According to Zilinski, there were numerous homes and businesses which incurred frozen pipes during the cold snap which arrived on Friday before Christmas Eve. Many of those homes and businesses were vacant and closed for the holiday and the broken pipes weren’t noticed right away.
“We’ve had some businesses that have leaked out two million gallons of water before it was detected,” Zilinski said. “We’ve had literally water running out the front door of residences where people weren’t home. These leaks have to be contained before the water pressure can get up.”
Initially a couple of the main lines in Beckley had problems, but those have been fixed. The problem since has been the hundreds upon hundreds of leaks which continue to drain the system and make it impossible for the pressure to be reestablished in the lines and in the water storage tanks.
“It’s caused the system to lose pressure in downtown Beckley where the main water feed is located. This caused a ripple effect to all of the outlying public service districts,” he said.
Gov. Jim Justice tweeted about the Beckley water issues Wednesday night. He expressed support for Zillinski and others that are addressing the issues.
Last weekend’s winter storm caused a big mess, and I’m thankful for everyone who’s helping clean up West Virginia.
A whole lot of people in Beckley have been without water for several days now, and crews are working to get the problems fixed.
— Governor Jim Justice (@WVGovernor) December 28, 2022
The water company and emergency officials are going door to door to check for leaks and if they were found to shut off service until the repairs are made. However, due to the holidays, many have still not been located.
“We did gain a little bit of ground today on a couple of the systems but that ripple effect, the outlying western end of the county may not see water until next week,” he explained.
There are three separate distribution points for bottled water around the area and two water tankers are dispensing non-potable water to residents who have no service. Those will continue to provide water until the emergency is over. When water service is restored a boil water advisory will be in effect. Repairs may take quite a while just because of the high demand for a limited number of plumbers and repair personnel in the region.
“There’s only a couple of agencies that are licensed to work on sprinkler systems, so those folks I’m sure are overtaxed right now,” he said.