Water services restored after West Virginia storms
CHARLESTON, W.Va., July 12, 2012 -- Water service has been fully restored to all 171,000 customers in West Virginia American Water’s systems following storms that caused extensive power outages across the state. While a small number of remote sites continue to run on backup generator power, customers are not experiencing any issues with their water quality or water pressure.
Each day, West Virginia American Water treats and pumps 50 million gallons of water through 3,500 miles of water main across the state. Water is pumped as far as 70 miles through mountainous terrain before it reaches its final destination at a home or business – a process which requires an immense amount of power.
“When power is interrupted to more than half of West Virginia American Water’s 350+ electricity dependent sites as it was following the June 29 storms, it takes a monumental effort by our employees to keep the water flowing,” said Jeff McIntyre, president of West Virginia American Water. “Thanks to their dedication, expertise and tireless hours, these men and women put our customers first and were able to maintain uninterrupted water service to more than 90 percent of our customers throughout the entire event – an outstanding achievement they should certainly be proud of.”
Employees worked around the clock for days keeping water treatment plants operational and moving dozens of generators back and forth to remote sites across the state. Within the first eight days of the 2-week power restoration efforts, West Virginia American Water had restored full water service to all but approximately 200 of the company’s customers across the state. Water service has been fully restored to the remaining customers, and the precautionary boil water advisory issued statewide by the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health on July 2 has been lifted for all West Virginia American Water customers.
The company provided updates for customers on its website (www.westvirginiaamwater.com) and news and photos of the restoration efforts via Facebook (Facebook.com/wvamwater) and Twitter (Twitter.com/wvamwater) throughout the event.
“I would like to recognize the thousands of workers, emergency responders and volunteers who are working as diligently as our own employees to get through this challenging event,” McIntyre said. “I also am especially grateful for the families of our employees – many of whom changed vacation plans and spent the holidays apart from their loved ones in support of these critical efforts.”