Customers of the Berkeley Springs Water Works who reside north of Sheetz are still under a Boil Water Notice this morning, Monday, October 19, confirmed Bath councilwoman Mary Lynn Hickey. She said the district office of the State Health Department is currently testing town water to make sure it is safe to use after multiple leaks disturbed the public water system over the course of five days. The testing can take 24 hours to get results.
“This is out of an abundance of caution,” Hickey said. Any time pipes are disturbed by leaks and work to make repairs, there is a chance for contaminants to be introduced. That’s why Boil Water Notices are put into place until the water quality can be officially verified.
Water customers will be notified when the Boil Water Notice is lifted, both by phone and via the town’s website.
The local Health Department also became involved in the water emergency on Friday as the major leak was identified and being repaired. Hickey said the town contacted health officials to “loop them in” as water outages and Boil Water rules impacted the operations of businesses, especially restaurants. County health officials are helping advise establishments about the right protocols to use boiled water and reopen their operations when possible.
It is reported that customers of the Berkeley Springs Water Works do have access to water on Monday.
Hickey said the largest leak at Jimstown Road has been repaired. There were five separate leaks detected by water crews with the town and with assistance from crews from American Water. A couple have been fully repaired and others have been “managed,” Hickey said. Those will be fully repaired this week.
Additional reporting on the water emergency will be in this week’s Morgan Messenger.
