I'm flushing my water system now. I will shower and clean with it but I'll wait a few days to cook or drink it.
Here is a well written response that I agree with:
Overall,
a great crisis response Advertiser- PUTTING aside for now the obvious
questions for Freedom Industries and West Virginia American Water
Company about potential steps they could
have taken to prevent the great water crisis of 2014, the overall
response by the water company, state and local officials, and the
community has been remarkable. While the area experienced a bit of panic
in the first few hours after Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and water company
officials announced a "Do Not Use" order late Thursday afternoon, it
wasn't long before officials announced that truckloads of water were on
the way. As promised, truckloads began arriving early Friday. The West
Virginia Air National Guard's 130th Airlift Wing was among the first,
hauling in 51 tractor-trailers loaded with water from a Federal
Emergency Management Agency center in Maryland. Churches, schools and
community centers set up distribution sites to get drinkable water to
the people. Andthe flow hasn't stopped. Not just bottled water, but
tankers of potable water that residents can use to fill containers are
available at several dozens of water distribution locations. County
government, state government, FEMA, cities across the state, caring
volunteers, businesses in the region and more have come together to make
sure none of the 300,000 residents affected in nine counties affected
by the water crisis order had to go without. The city of St. Albans,
which has its own water treatment plant on the Coal River unaffected by
the chemical spill, made its water supplies available, and churches in
that city offered lunches and free showers. St. Albans restaurants, the
only ones in the area allowed to be open, flourished. The list goes on
of businesses, nonprofits and other organizations who have stepped into
help. An inconvenience for everyone? Sure. But thanks to an experienced
emergency planning team led by Gov. Tomblin and the state's Homeland
Security office and hardworking efforts of many employees and
volunteers, and the good will of our area's neighbors, drinkable water
is available to all. It seems the only organization without a good
response was Freedom Industries, the company that operates the tank
system that leaked the chemical 4-methylcyclohexane methanol into the
Elk River. In the aftermath, questions must be answered and people held
accountable. But for now, people in the affected area are not thirsty or
sick from the water, or lack thereof. And for that, we should all be
very grateful.
No comments:
Post a Comment