Southside VA News

Town of Chatham issued the following announcement on May 30

BOIL YOUR TAP WATER

Failure to follow this advisory could result in stomach or intestinal illness.

The Virginia Department of Health in conjunction with the Pittsylvania County Health Department and the Town of Chatham are advising residents, businesses commercial, and industrial water customers served by the Town of Chatham to include the Town of Chatham, service areas north of Chatham, customers in the Tightsqueeze area to include the high school, middle school, and the Dry Forkservice areas to use boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking purposes as a safety precaution. This precaution is necessary because of a water line break near the water treatment plant that occurred around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 29, 2021, affecting all customers in the listed areas. A Boil Water Notice is effective immediately and must remain in place, until further notice.  

DO NOT DRINK TAP WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST

However, boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, beverage and food preparation, and making ice until further notice.  Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.  Boiling is the preferred method to assure that the tap water is safe to drink.  Bring all tap water to a rolling boil, let it boil for one (1) minute and then cool before using, or use bottled water. This only pertains to the consumption of water.

If you cannot boil your tap water….

• An alternative method of purification for residents that do not have gas or electricity available is to use liquid household bleach to disinfect water.  The bleach product should be recently purchased, free of additives and scents, and should contain a hypochlorite solution of at least 5.25%.  Public health officials recommend adding 8 drops of bleach (about ¼ teaspoon) to each gallon of water.  The water should be stirred and allowed to stand for at least 30 minutes before use. 
• Water purification tablets may also be used by following the manufacturer’s instructions.

We will inform you when you no longer need to boil your water. Water line repair is in progress. To address possible contamination issues after water service is restored, the water lines will be flushed and disinfected. Bacteriological samples will be collected to ensure water quality is satisfactory. Based on estimated time for disinfection, flushing and testing, the Boil Water Notice may remain effective until further notice.  

For more information call: Tim Hammell with Inframark at 434-250-6498.

Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses).  You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.

Original source can be found here.