Chemical levels in West Virginia water drop, but still no end in sight to ban

(CNN) -- The level of odorous chemical in West Virginians' water dropped Friday, but not enough for authorities to lift a warning to avoid drinking, cooking or bathing with it or to give a clear idea as to when things will change.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin described the situation in nine counties Friday night as "pretty bad," both for residents being told the only thing they should do with their running water is flush their toilets and schools, restaurants, hotels and other businesses forced to close.
One bit of good news is tests on the affected water supply, which are being conducted on an hourly basis, show "the chemical level is declining."
"But we're just not sure exactly how long it's going to take before it's acceptable to lift the do-not-drink ban," the governor told CNN.
Much of the anger centers around the coal-industry company from which the chemical leak occurred. And there's also frustration among some -- including Danny Jones, the mayor of West Virginia's most populated city and capital, Charleston -- that the water company trying to deal with the resulting mess still doesn't have a timeline for when things will return to normal.
"It's caused us more problems than you could ever imagine," Jones said Friday night, pointing out people can't do things like wash their hands after going to bathroom or wash their clothes.
"... It's a prison from which we would like to be released."
The crisis began Thursday, when residents of Kanawha County reported a foul odor -- similar to licorice -- in the air.
The Kanawha County Fire Department and the state Department of Environmental Protection that day traced that smell to a leak from a 35,000-gallon storage tank along the Elk River.
The chemical had overflowed a containment area around the tank run by Freedom Industries, then migrated over land and through the soil into the river. The leak happened about a mile upriver from the impacted West Virginia American Water Co. plant.
After concluding the tap water was contaminated late Thursday afternoon, a stop-use warning went out to customers in Boone, Cabell, Clay, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Putnam and Roane counties.
West Virginia American Water's president Jeff McIntyre said Friday he didn't believe the substance -- 4-methylcyclohexane methanol -- was still flowing. But that doesn't mean the situation will be resolved soon.
"It is not intended to be in the water (or) distribution system," McIntyre said. "... Once it's in there, there's no more treatment for it."
While there haven't been reported widespread sicknesses, the ordeal is having a big impact.
Kanawha County Commission president Kent Carper told reporters Friday more than 300,000 people have been affected. Tomblin gave a lower estimate -- saying it was "way over 100,000 (but) we don't have an exact number yet of people ... without water."
Businesses -- including 15 McDonald's in the area, according to their ownership group -- have shut down. Hospitals have taken emergency measures to conserve water. And residents have been scrambling, as evidenced by empty shelves and worries at home.

(ALSO)

Tap water may be out for days after W.Va. spill

NBC News
Tap water in nine West Virginia counties continues to be off-limits, the governor said Saturday evening, as residents spent a third day unable to drink from the faucet or bathe following a chemical spill.
“We will let you know as soon as the water company lifts the ban,” Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said at a news conference. “Please remain patient and keep checking on your neighbors.”
Tomblin said officials will continue testing the water supply and purging the system, after nearly 800 people reported symptoms by Saturday afternoon.
“The chemical leak is unacceptable and must be cleaned up as soon as possible,” Tomblin added.
The National Guard said tests administered on the water on Saturday showed the contamination level was decreasing but that the water was not yet safe to use, reported NBC affiliate WSAZ.
“I would expect that we are talking days” before the water is safe, said West Virginia American Water's president, Jeff McIntyre.
The state's poison control center had logged 787 human exposure calls and 54 animal exposure calls since the massive leak sparked a tap-water ban for 300,000 residents, said the director Dr. Elizabeth Scharman.
Many of those were from people experiencing nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, skin irritation or rashes in “varying degrees of severity," Scharman said. 
The center — which called in staff from vacation, recruited volunteers and put workers on 16-hour shifts — recommended that only a few callers go to the emergency room because most of the symptoms can be treated at home. 
At least 90 people showed up at hospitals, though the vast majority of them didn't require emergency treatment, Scharman said. As many as five people have been admitted. 
The West Virginia American Water Co. announced Thursday that its water supply had become contaminated, after a leak from a Freedom Industries storage tank about a mile upstream on the Elk River sent a strange licorice-like smell wafting through the streets in Charleston, the state capital.
Tomblin declared a state of emergency in Boone, Cabell, Clay, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Putnam and Roane counties after the spill of up to 5,000 gallons into the Elk River. 

1 Esdras 8:83
That the land which ye enter into to possess as an heritage is a land polluted with the pollutions of the strangers of the land and they have filled it with their uncleanness


Zephaniah 3:1  Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!