Boil Water Order Remains in Place
Sept 22 2021
Here in the outback
where back up resources are few and far between, crisis
conditions can come at a moments notice.
Word spread on Monday Sept 20th that there was a problem with the Town of Clay WaWa Plant which provides the wet stuff to much of the county.
The main plant draws from the Elk River. The liquid is pumped to the riverbank side plant via two pumps. One pump stays on stand by just in case something happens to the main pump. On Sept 20th one pump was already out of use (been down for 6 weeks), blown up, when the remaining pump went up in smoke.
With school in session and the Courthouses and business open for business, it didn't take long for the storage tanks to drop low. By Tuesday morning, the main Clay Tank was down to 8 eight of wawa. The Clay PSD tank was down to the 6 feet level. Low tank levels often stir the mud, bugs, and other yuck and send it thru the main lines.
The public school system was closed by the Pentagon Monday afternoon, Sept 20th, Some businesses closed. The Courthouse did likewise. Schools remained closed on Tuesday Sept 21st.
Word spread on Monday Sept 20th that there was a problem with the Town of Clay WaWa Plant which provides the wet stuff to much of the county.
The main plant draws from the Elk River. The liquid is pumped to the riverbank side plant via two pumps. One pump stays on stand by just in case something happens to the main pump. On Sept 20th one pump was already out of use (been down for 6 weeks), blown up, when the remaining pump went up in smoke.
With school in session and the Courthouses and business open for business, it didn't take long for the storage tanks to drop low. By Tuesday morning, the main Clay Tank was down to 8 eight of wawa. The Clay PSD tank was down to the 6 feet level. Low tank levels often stir the mud, bugs, and other yuck and send it thru the main lines.
The public school system was closed by the Pentagon Monday afternoon, Sept 20th, Some businesses closed. The Courthouse did likewise. Schools remained closed on Tuesday Sept 21st.
Lack of wawa
is serious. Not even mentioning fire suppression, people can't
go long without a ready supply. Bathrooms go sour in just a
few hours without enough flushing.
When citizens hear they may be without wawa, they start filling up jug, bath tubs, and anything they can find to capture the last few drops of life. Preservation is first priority but that mass draw only depletes supplies even quicker.
Town leaders put their heads together Tuesday morning. From that crisis meeting: Big Otter and Clay Fire Departments brought over equipment and starting drawing from the Elk; West Virginia Water Company brought in a large tanker so citizens to fill jugs; and, 2 skids of bottled wawa was brought into the county for free hand out.
The Fire Depts were able to make headway and keep wawa levels manageable. We don't think anyone saw their spigots run completely dry.
Early Wed morning (Sept 22) a replacement pump arrived. Maintenance men got everything hooked up by 11:40 and made the announcement to County Commissioners, we're back in business.
When citizens hear they may be without wawa, they start filling up jug, bath tubs, and anything they can find to capture the last few drops of life. Preservation is first priority but that mass draw only depletes supplies even quicker.
Town leaders put their heads together Tuesday morning. From that crisis meeting: Big Otter and Clay Fire Departments brought over equipment and starting drawing from the Elk; West Virginia Water Company brought in a large tanker so citizens to fill jugs; and, 2 skids of bottled wawa was brought into the county for free hand out.
The Fire Depts were able to make headway and keep wawa levels manageable. We don't think anyone saw their spigots run completely dry.
Early Wed morning (Sept 22) a replacement pump arrived. Maintenance men got everything hooked up by 11:40 and made the announcement to County Commissioners, we're back in business.
By Wed afternoon,
citizens were breathing a little easier. But, what many forget
about, we remain in a Boil Water Order
situation. Boil it before using it for cooking or consumption.
Drema Thomas provided the newspaper with this update (above) on Sept 22nd just before noon
It will take a few days for tanks
to be filled. A few more days for the crud to washed thru the
lines. As of 1pm Wed Sept 22nd, no word on whether public
schools will reopen on the 23rd
From the Pentagon website: September 23, 2021: Clay High, Clay Middle, Clay Elementary, Big Otter Elementary, and Lizemore Elementary will be on remote learning due to the continued water outage. H.E. White Elementary will not be affected by the outage and will have school and after school as normal.
The Boil Water Order was lifted around 8am on Sept 24. Crisis is about over for now.
How is it in the 21st century we don't have back up capacity?
aw
Drema Thomas provided the newspaper with this update (above) on Sept 22nd just before noon
From the Pentagon website: September 23, 2021: Clay High, Clay Middle, Clay Elementary, Big Otter Elementary, and Lizemore Elementary will be on remote learning due to the continued water outage. H.E. White Elementary will not be affected by the outage and will have school and after school as normal.
Sept 23rd 8am
The Boil Water Order was lifted around 8am on Sept 24. Crisis is about over for now.
How is it in the 21st century we don't have back up capacity?