West Virginia officials announced Monday they have begun lifting a tap water ban — but strictly on a zone by zone basis — that has left 300,000 residents without safe drinking and bath water since a chemical spill five days ago.
“The numbers we have today look good, and we’re finally at a point where the do-no-use order has been lifted in certain areas,” Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said at a news conference.
Residents and businesses in the first zone — described as downtown Charleston and the capital city’s East End district — can begin a flushing process to ensure their pipes are cleansed of any traces of the chemical 4-methylcyclohexane methanol. Also known as MCHM, the chemical had leaked out of a 40,000-gallon storage tank along the Elk River.
Residents in nine counties first reported a licorice-type smell in their water Thursday morning.
Jeff McIntyre, president of West Virginia American Water, which runs the region’s water treatment plant, said it could still be “days” before all customers in the system are given the clear based on test results.
The company is launching an online map at www.westvirginiaamwater.com and has a hotline at 855-390-4569 to allow customers to find out if they are in a zone where the “do-not-use” ban has been lifted. West Virginia American Water is also autodialing customers who are in the safe “blue” zones.
Those customers can begin the flushing process. That means turning on the hot water for 15 minutes, then the cold water for five minutes and finally, outside taps for five minutes, officials said.
McIntyre said the odor could still persist after flushing — but residents shouldn’t keep running their water. He added there's no need to boil the tap water.