Another benefit of having a pool!

[Watermom]

Yeah, we are hoping this ends soon. It is getting old fast. We are on day 5 without being able to use water for anything other than flushing toilets. The chemical level is decreasing in the water supply. The latest news conference that I watched last night says that as soon as they get enough consistent low levels from their constant testing, they will begin flushing the system by zones and start bringing people back on. They said they are going to set up a website where you can put in your address and it will tell you if you are in the "green" or "red" zone so you will know when you are cleared to flush your lines and use water. They are also going to use an auto-dialer to call people when they are in the green zone. In addition, specific instructions about what residential customers are to do to flush is to be provided to the media and to consumers. As of now, none of this is yet available; thus we are still on the "no use" order.

Schools remain closed. (I am a teacher.) Last night, I was kind of thinking that we might go back on Tuesday but since it is nearly mid-day and no new information has come, I now suspect that odds are that it won't be over by then. It is a large water system --- the largest in the state -- and all the zones are not going to be cleared out quickly I don't suspect.

At any rate, I had sent Ben a picture yesterday to show him my "shower" set up. His comment to me was, "what a hoot!" I thought some of the rest of you might be curious to see it. May give you a chuckle, too!

(Still glad for my pool, says the girl who just got to have a "shower." Seeing as how most people in the area are on day 5 with only having a spit bath!)

[BigDave]

You ingenuity is, as always, impressive. Good luck with the rest of your pollution siege.

[CarlD]

I heard some people in WV are using catchment systems--old-fashioned rain barrels!

[Watermom]

Finally, after 6 days of not being able to use our water, they are lifting the "do not use" order gradually. They still haven't gotten very far. Today around here, everyone's conversation includes, "are you in the red or the blue?" (They decided to do red and blue instead of red and green because of possible color blindness issues.) The water company has a map on their website where you can put in your address and find out if you are in the red or blue area. It is only a small percentage blue at this point. Mostly red.

We finally made it to blue today and are flushing but there is still an odor to the water and it is yellowish. I have drained the hot water tank and have been opening up the other lines as well for several minutes at a time. Then, waiting awhile and doing it some more. Have to throw out the first few batches of ice from the ice maker and change filters, etc. One large area of the city made it to the "blue" and then a few minutes later, a quick "stop" was called and they were changed back to red. Not sure what happened with that but 4 hours later, they are blue again. (Can you imagine the amount of water hitting the water treatment and sanitation plant today?)

I am going to run the dishwasher later. It has dishes in it that have been there for days. I am not going to unload it first but will run it as is and then run it through a second time. I am not yet going to use water to cook with nor am I going to do any laundry today. I do not want to risk the odor getting into the clothes. I'll wait another day and hopefully it will be gone. (Have to run it through first empty to clear those lines before doing a load with clothes.) I *might* take a real shower in the morning. Maybe. I know of two people who made it to the blue zone last night and who showered this morning and said they were really itchy afterwards. So, we'll see about the shower. Either way, I will still use bottled water for washing my face and brushing teeth for awhile.

But ...... it is probably going to be awhile before I am willing to drink the water. They say it is safe, but I am not ready to chance it, especially with the yellowish tinge and the odor.

They have a ways to go to get everybody into the "blue." School was canceled again today. (We also missed last Friday due to this.) And, again tomorrow, no school. Due to the water contamination issue and also the extreme cold (5 below zero) at the beginning of last week, we have only had 1-1/2 days of school in 2014 so far.

You know, everybody always just turns on the faucet to get a drink, brush your teeth, take a shower, etc., and none of us even give it a second thought. We all just take so many things for granted. I think it is going to be a long time til I don't hesitate every time my hand touches that faucet handle.

[Watermom]

Day 7 and still about 150,000 people in the 9 affected counties in West Virginia without safe water. Schools remain closed. Health department officials are going non-stop inspecting places that have already flushed their pipes before they can reopen. (Such as restaurants, day care centers, schools, etc.) They are hoping that all schools can be reopened by next Tuesday. (There is no school Monday due to the Martin Luther King holiday.) The National Guard is delivering water to all schools for the children to drink upon their return to school.

Several more people have been hospitalized. Some people who have been using the water after they flushed their pipes are having issues as well.

Showering and hand washing at my house have not caused us any noticeable problems but won't drink it or cook with it for quite some time. There is no data to let anyone know whether or not this stuff is a carcinogen. I pray not. It is a terrifying thought to think that someday years down the road, my kids could develop cancer as a result of this incident. I pray not. The longer this goes on, the longer you have to think about all of this. Very scary.

[JimK]

I think your cautious approach is wise.

I hope they get it straightened out soon, but like you I would have serious reservations about ingesting it for some time even after it's declared "safe".

[JimK]

How's the water situation going?

[Watermom]

They finally got all areas back in service but I don't know anybody who is using the water for cooking or drinking it. A couple of days after they told us that the water was now safe, they came out with a warning that pregnant women should not drink the water. So........ if it is not safe for pregnant women, how can anybody be safe in drinking it?? A lot of areas are still able to smell the tell-tale licorice smell in the water. One of the news station hired some water testing company out of the area to test for the chemical in samples and to also test for other things. They are supposed to report tomorrow night what they find out. Will be interested to hear. The governor says the area is still under a state of emergency and they continue to have many places where people can go and either be given cases of water for free or fill up containers with water. I don't know how long they will continue to do these things but I suspect it will be for awhile yet. There have been a lot of new cases of people going to the hospital this week after starting to use the 'safe' water. We are showering and washing with it and not seeing any evidence of problems but still using bottled water for drinking and cooking for the foreseeable future. (Even the head of the local health department says that his family is using bottled water for the time being for drinking and cooking.) Of course, the president of the water company appeared on the news and drank a glass of tap water to show everybody that it is safe. Most people are not yet willing to trust that.

All you see on TV are ads for lawyers these days. I think there are already in excess of 30 lawsuits filed. The company has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy but I don't know the specifics of what that does for them. I read in the news tonight that they have $3 million in liability insurance for pollution and another $2 million in general liability insurance. They say they have already spent $800,000 towards clean up.

It is still a big mess. It is hard to believe that though the leak happened nearly 2 weeks ago, that it is still not over. I hope it will be soon and this is not something that will continue to cause long-term problems for people. That is something that there is no way to know, however, as there just isn't much data on this chemical. Any report that comes out just has a lot of questions answered by, "data not available." I guess we are the guinea pigs.

Unbelievably, schools are still not back in session. They have been closed since end of day Jan. 9 which was a Thursday. Also, closed all the following week due to the water fiasco -- Jan. 13-17 and also closed Monday Jan. 20 due to ML King holiday. Then, closed again today and tomorrow due to snowstorm. This is crazy! Since school closed before Christmas break (last day was Dec. 19), over a month later, the kids have only been in school for 2.5 days. We are assuming they will return on Thursday. Bottled water is there for use. Sinks and fountains are off limits. Hand sanitizer is placed in restrooms. Automated phone calls are going out to let parents know that all meals served will be prepared with bottled water.

Life as we knew it (300,000 of us) has been turned upside down. Trust and taking things for granted has gone by the way side. Not sure if and when it will return.

[JimK]

Wow, what a disaster.

I hope despite the challenges y'all are doing ok.

[Watermom]

So, the headline on today's news says that there was another chemical mixed in with the MCHM. Something called strip PPH. And, it took them 12 days to let somebody know?!?!

"They didn't realize til yesterday."

Gee, thanks, guys. So............. what else are you not telling us?

Like I said in my post from yesterday, this is still a long ways from being over.