DANVILLE, Va. – Residents in Danville are relying on bottled water this week after a boil water advisory disrupted daily life across the city.
The advisory was issued Monday following heavy rainfall that washed into the Dan River, the city’s primary water source. The rain came after a period of drought, conditions officials say contributed to unusually high turbidity levels in the water.
“We had what we call a high turbidity level,” said Jason Grey, director of Danville Utilities. “Typically, our levels are around 10 to 15. We were seeing numbers in the 280-plus range.”
Turbidity refers to the cloudiness of water caused by suspended particles. After debris washed into the river, officials noticed a filmy, greasy substance on the surface and made the decision to drain water treatment tanks and restart the treatment process — a procedure that can take up to six hours.
Grey said the city did not allow untreated or noncompliant water into the system during the disruption.
“We have not put any non-drinking water standard water in our system,” Grey said. “That was the biggest part to begin with — we’re not going to put any non-drinking compliance water into our system just to maintain pressure.”
For residents like John Jasko, the advisory has meant significant inconvenience. He said his household now depends entirely on bottled water for cooking and drinking.
“We have to rely on bottled water for everything we’re cooking or drinking,” Jasko said. “And due to medical reasons, we need to be drinking at least 40 ounces of water a day.”
Jasko said water concerns are not new for his family. He said they have experienced water-related issues since 2015 and have previously had the city test samples from their home. He claims the water has damaged plastic fixtures over time.
“The water itself is just eating the plastic away,” he said. “All you have to do is leave water dripping on it.”
Jasko said it is frustrating to once again deal with water safety concerns.
“I would hope that the city would do a better job of maintaining the water system,” he said. “It looks like they’ve failed immensely on that.”
City officials said testing will continue throughout the week. Saturday is the earliest the boil water advisory could be lifted, pending acceptable test results.