UPDATE POSTED 10 P.M. TUESDAY:
Danville Utilities said Tuesday night the first test results of treated water samples confirm that the water leaving the city’s treatment facility meets public health standards.
The test results came from two finished water samples collected by Duke Energy at the city’s two reservoirs, said Barry Dunkley, division director of water and wastewater treatment for Danville Utilities.
Danville Utilities also is collecting water samples. Those test results will be made public when they are received. Dunkley said those results could be available on Wednesday.
The samples of treated water are being analyzed for the presence of heavy metals.
Dunkley said the concentration of fly ash in the raw water drawn from the Dan River is decreasing, and the city continues to remove successfully the ash from the raw water.
A break Sunday afternoon in a storm water pipe beneath an ash basin at Duke Energy’s shuttered Dan River Steam Station in Eden, N.C., caused a release of ash basin water and ash into the Dan River. Danville Utilities was notified Sunday of the spill into the river, and it has been able to remove the ash from the raw water entering the city’s intake.
Danville Utilities provides natural gas, water, wastewater and telecommunications services in Danville and distributes electricity to approximately 42,000 customer locations in a 500-square-mile service territory covering Danville, the southern third of Pittsylvania County, and small portions of Henry and Halifax counties.
ORIGINAL STORY:
A break Sunday afternoon in a stormwater pipe beneath an ash basin at the retired Dan River Steam Station in Eden, N.C., has caused a release of ash basin water and ash into the Dan River. Danville Utilities has been able to successfully treat the water.
“We were notified Sunday of the spill into the river, and we were able to treat it,” said Barry Dunkley, division director of water and wastewater treatment for Danville Utilities. “All water leaving our treatment facility has met public health standards. We do not anticipate any problems going forward in treating the water we draw from the Dan River.”
City of Danville Emergency Management staff have been monitoring the situation and have been in consultation with Duke Energy, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.