CAROLINE COUNTY, Va. — Lisa Ritenour never quite knows what's going to come out of her tap in Caroline County, Virginia.
"It's hard to say when you don't know. You just turn the water on, and you might get dirty water," Ritenour said.
She lives in a community that gets its water from a private company called Aqua Virginia, and she reached out to CBS 6 after experiencing numerous instances where her water looked dirty and discolored.
"I've turned the shower on, and the floor of my shower is brown," Ritenour said.
Ritenour showed photos from a Facebook page where residents from her community communicate that she said show the discolored water.
She also introduced us to other residents who shared similar concerns.
"Aqua has not really responded to the ongoing problem. When the water comes out bad, we have to rush and get drinking water. We have to pay for that," said Darin Brown.
Another homeowner demonstrated the impact by showing his whole house water filter, compared to a brand new one.
"This goes in, it's a whole house filter, everything runs through it, and this is the result after 3 months of running water through it,” said Scott Nichols.
The chairperson of the Caroline County Board of Supervisors, Nancy Long, authored a letter in June to Aqua Virginia, the Division of Public Utility Regulation at the State Corporation Commission, and the Virginia Department of Health's Office of Drinking Water.
In the letter, Long expressed concerns about what she called a "serious water service incident" that occurred over the Memorial Day holiday and impacted residents of the Lake Land'Or community.
Long stated the incident "rendered basic activities like drinking, cooking, showering and laundry impossible for over 24 hours," adding these are "not new problems."
She also said the county was "deeply concerned with the lack of information and prompt communication from Aqua regarding what caused the issue, when it would be fixed and what residents should do until that time."
The board requested to meet with each entity to discuss what could be done to prevent another event like this one.
"I don't drink this water that comes out of here. I don't even brush my teeth with it because I don't know what's in that brown water,” Ritenour said.
When contacted about these concerns, Aqua Virginia spokeswoman Heather Keefer confirmed that over the past few months, they have experienced discolored water issues in the Lake Land’Or water system.
Keefer said Aqua Virginia believes the recent water discoloration resulted from flushing following repair or maintenance work.
She added that while these minerals can temporarily affect the color of the water, they do not pose any health risk, and said regular water sampling results showed "we met all state water quality standards during these incidents."
Keefer also said the company communicates with customers through its WaterSmart Alerts system, which sends phone, text, or email notifications, and customers are encouraged to sign up.
When asked if the company provides compensation to customers for the discolored water, she said Aqua Virginia may issue a one-time courtesy credit in such cases.
Customers said they received a $5 credit.
"I expected at least $50 off, so when they said five, it was a joke. It was a slap in the face," Brown said.
To minimize future occurrences Aqua Virginia said it:
- Completed annual flushing of the full water system, along with targeted flushing in specific areas to minimize disruption to unaffected parts of the system.
- Installed two additional flush-off valves to improve operations and maintenance of the distribution system.
- Instructed our operations team to closely monitor the system for discoloration during routine visits and maintenance work.
- Increased customer communications via WaterSmart Alerts and regular updates via our Disruption Event Viewer.
- Ongoing coordination with the Lake Land’Or Property Owner’s Association to limit activities that could lead to scour, such as pool filling, unauthorized operation of fire hydrants, or contractor operation of water valves without prior notice to Aqua.
Here is the full statement from Aqua Water:
Aqua Virginia’s number one priority is the health and safety of our customers. Over the past few months, we have experienced some discolored water issues in the Lake Land’Or water system. First, we want to assure our customers that our regular water sampling results showed we met all state water quality standards during these incidents. Still, we understand the frustration this can cause. We believe the discoloration resulted from flushing following repair or maintenance work. We remain committed to offering the best possible service to our customers in the Lake Land’Or community and across Virginia.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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