Tuesday, March 3, 2015

HUNDREDS OF GALLONS OF DIESEL FUEL SPILL IN APPOMATTOX RIVER LEADS TO VIRGINIA AMERICAN WATER PLANT SHUTDOWN IN HOPEWELL









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.

//---------------------------------------------------------------------//

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.