MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After 10 days of leak detection and repairs, water service has been restored to customers in the Clinton Water Association service area near Morgantown, although the work is not yet complete.
Clinton Water representative Patrick Kirby of Carline Hauling and Excavation said crews worked through the weekend to get the water flowing again. However, a boil/conservation advisory remains in effect.
Water samples must undergo about 24 hours of testing, and the advisory will likely be lifted once those samples receive the “all clear.”
“As of Sunday water has been restored,” Kirby said. ” But, you may still experience some periods of intermittent low pressure as we still attend to some line repairs.”
The problems have impacted about 6,000 customers.
According to Kirby, it’s still too early to determine the cause of the leak and the extended outage. However, the tanks were refilled and made progress over the weekend, aided by a significant drop in typical usage.
“I’ve got a team of folks looking into it,” Kirby said. ” But, right now they are out in the field continuing with their leak detection so we can come up with solid after action report.”
Throughout the days of leak detection and repair, no clear or consistent cause for the outage was identified. While the cause remains unknown, crews continue working on leak detection and repairs in the service area.
“Whether it be the connections, or when the water volumes dropped and you have to re-pressurize the lines and the lines had an issue,” Kirby said. ” There are a number of places, but we have successfully identified at least four leaks right now.”
Kirby said state and local officials, including the State and Monongalia County Health Departments, have been very helpful and responsive. Water sample tests take about 24 hours, and he noted the boil/conservation order will be lifted as soon as it’s deemed safe.
“We’re actually running multiple tests with the state and local health departments right now,” Kirby said. ” So, when the boil advisory is lifted people should be confident in what’s going on.”