MARCH 3, 2015
HOPEWELL, VIRGINIA
A diesel fuel spill in the Appomattox River near the intake
for a private water treatment plant serving Hopewell has resulted in a shutdown
of the facility as crews worked through the night to contain the leak, a city
fire official said.
The spill originated on the property of Virginia American
Water near the state Route 10 bridge over the Appomattox, said Battalion Chief
Robin Yost.
Firefighters were alerted about 11 p.m. Monday.
Yost said the leak has been contained and that cleanup
efforts were continuing with a contractor.
The cause of the leak is under investigation, he said. The
amount of fuel spilled was not immediately available, but it is estimated to be
at least 600 galons of diesel spilled onto the ground and into the river.
The spill resulted in a mandatory water conservation notice
for about 9,400 Hopewell-area customers of Virginia American Water, the utility
said Tuesday morning.
Hazmat teams have been here all morning working this
incident as well as Hopewell Fire & EMS. They have been bringing a lot of
equipment in and out of the area, including booms to help soak up some of the
fuel.
The Hopewell fire chief says they are doing all they can to
clean all of this up before it gets worse.
"We have got boats in the water to put booms out to try
and contain it. Lucky we are at high tide switch so tide is working with us
right now to be able to contain it," said Chief Donny Hunter.
Crews are expected to be here on scene into the afternoon.
No word yet on how this all happened but we are told that the fuel came from a
nearby water treatment facility.
The utility shut down the company's water treatment plant
"prior to any fuel entering the treatment process," according to a
news release. Customers were asked to reduce non-essential water use.
"The quality of customers’ drinking water is not
affected, but the plant will remain shut down until the spill is cleaned up and
it’s safe to restart the plant," the company said.
"Customers are asked to reduce non-essential water use
until the issue is corrected and the conservation requirements are
lifted," the water utility said. "Virginia American Water has
notified the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and Virginia
Department of Health about the incident. The cause of the fuel spill is under
investigation."
The utility said updates will be provided through its
website at www.virginiaamwater.com, under the Alert Notifications section. The
customer service number is 800-452-6863.
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MARCH 3, 2015
Virginia American Water shutdown its water treatment plant
in Hopewell after diesel fuel spilled into the Appomattox River late
Monday. HAZMAT crews from Hopewell and the surrounding areas were called
to Hopewell City Marina to clean up the spill. Those crews used booms to
collect the fuel and prevent it from spreading.
Virginia American Water called the shutdown a precaution and
emphasized the water is safe to drink.
Virginia American Water today issued a mandatory
conservation notice for customers in the Hopewell area to reduce water
consumption due to a fuel spill in the Appomattox River, which resulted in the
shutdown of the company’s water treatment plant. Virginia American Water
operators shut down the plant prior to any fuel entering the treatment process.
The company says the quality of customers’ drinking water is not affected, but
the plant will remain shutdown until the spill is cleaned up and it’s safe to restart
the plant.
Customers are asked to reduce non-essential water use until
the issue is corrected and the conservation requirements are lifted. This
notice affects approximately 9,400 customers.
Virginia American Water has notified the Virginia Department
of Environmental Quality and Virginia Department of Health about the incident.
The cause of the fuel spill is under investigation.
Customers will be notified when the mandatory conservation
notice is lifted, and updates will be provided through the Virginia American
Water website at www.virginiaamwater.com, under the Alert Notifications
section. For more information, contact Virginia American Water’s customer
service center at 1-800-452-6863.