CCH Still Under Boil Water Restriction

By Claudia Koch, Staff Writer

CHARLOTTE COURT HOUSE – One week after the accident that caused a break in a major water line, and ultimately, pressure breaks in other locations, the residents of Charlotte Court House are still under order by the health department to boil tap water before consumption.

In a conversation with Town Clerk Karen Price, it was learned that before the restriction is lifted, two water samplings, taken 16 hours apart, must be submitted to the health department and approved for regular home use.

Curtis Inge, who worked as water operator for some time, but retired in April, has returned to assist in this situation, and has been “indispensable,” according to Price. He has been responsible for the addition of disinfecting agents that have been added to the water system and will be taking the first sample of water to be submitted on Wednesday (Nov. 1). The second sample will be taken Thursday. Fire hydrants have been opened around town to pull the water through the pipes so that the level of water in both storage tanks is lowered. The tanks will then refill with the sanitized water. All of the town’s wells are being disinfected and will be tested individually according to health department standards.

In the initial effort to close valves within the system to stem the loss of water, locating those valves was found to be a problem. During the last week, residents have begun to notice blue paint all over town marking the valves that have since been located. The lack of a comprehensive map of the town’s water system has prompted Town Clerk Price to contact Virginia Rural Water concerning this problem and that agency will be assisting the town with the mapping.

In the meantime, there has been free bottled water available to water customers at the town office. Brought to town and stored in a trailer belonging to Abilene Trucking, the pallets of water were donated by Gleaning for the World, who had water on hand for emergencies. The Jones family, who own Abilene Trucking, have been working with Gleaning for the World and made the initial contact with them for assistance.

Clerk Price stated that they are hopeful that things will be back to normal by Friday of this week. After the two samples are submitted to the health department and approved, she will call the big water users, and place a sign in front of the town office to notify homeowners.

“Everybody has been very understanding and conservative in the amounts of water they’re taking,” Price noted.