WVAW Discontinues Bulk Water Distribution

West Virginia American Water announced Monday they would be discontinuing their bulk water distribution service two days early.

In a press release, the company said the forecast is to blame for the early end to the service which was planned to end Wednesday. Bulk water tankers in previous weeks have been unable to distribute water when temperatures reach freezing.

WVAW said test results at all points throughout all of the distribution zones are coming back below the more rigorous 2 parts per billion standard. That standard is 500 times below the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested 1 part per million level deemed acceptable for use.

The CDC believes there is no evidence to suggest adverse health effects to any population, including pregnant women, below the 10 parts per billion level, according to the state Bureau for Public Health. WVAW said their system has been testing below that level in all locations since Feb. 20.

WVAW President Jeff McIntyre said the company will continue to respond to customer complaints of odor, but only to address the smell and not any health concerns.

“Now that we no longer have detectable levels of MCHM throughout our distribution system and have assisted Queen Shoals PSD to also achieve this in their system, we have concluded our systematic flushing operations in the Kanawha Valley,” he said in a release.

The credits customers are to receive for the flushing process are still being applied to bills. The company said the credits are marked in a line entitled “Flushing Credit” and will be reflected on bills received from mid-February to mid-March, depending on when bills were generated.