COLUMBIA, PA - Columbia Water customers should not drink water March 14, 2013 03:15 PM EDT
Customers of Columbia Water Company have been asked to not drink water due to potential contamination, according to company officials.
Officials said a break-in at a storage tank/pumping station happened early Thursday and they are not sure if the water was tampered with.
Customers in the Marietta Division of Columbia Water company are not affected.
Columbia police said they were called to a storage tank north of the borough about noon Thursday.
Below is the full statement from company officials.
Columbia Water Company is issuing a "DO NOT CONSUME" order for customers of Columbia Water Company due to potential contamination of the drinking water supply. It was discovered today that a break-in occurred over night at one of the storage tank/pumping station locations. At this time, it is unknown if the water in the storage tank was tampered with.
This notice applies to the following customers: All customers of Columbia Water Company except those in the Marietta Division.
DO NOT DRINK THE WATER UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. Customers are asked to not use the water for drinking, cooking, food preparation, oral hygiene or providing to pets until further notice.
Throw away ice cubes if made with tap water after 3:30 p.m. on March 13. The water can be used for sanitary purposes such as bathing and washing. If you have specific health concerns, you may wish to consult your doctor.
Alternative water supplies are being provided by Columbia Water Company. Columbia Water will be providing a water tanker to residents as needed. The water tankers will be stationed at the Columbia Shopping Plaza and the Columbia Shopping Center. You will need to bring your own containers to transport your water.
Corrective actions are being taken by Columbia Water Company. We have isolated the storage tank that was possibly tampered with. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is conducting sampling of the tank and the distribution system to identify any potential contamination. We will be draining the tank after sampling has been conducted.
Columbia Water Company anticipates resolving the problem within 3-5 days. Notice will be issued when the problem is resolved and this advisory has been lifted.
For more information visit our website at ColumbiaWaterCo.com or call the Columbia Water Company at 717-684-2188.
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This is a bunch of bull, the tower water was bad to begin with. This is so they can drain it all out! The power of the rich!
ReplyDeleteSounds plausible. Can you provide substantiation?
DeleteWOW I JUST READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE AT COLUMBIA NEWS VIEWS AND REVIEWS....MY THOUGHTS TOO ARE: HOW LONG DID THE COLA WATER CO KNOW THIS BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY ALERTED RESIDENTS?????? I CALLED THE BORO AT 2:10 OR SO AND THEY KNEW NOTHING, THEY HADN'T RECEIVED ANY CALL FROM THE WATER CO YET. AS SOON AS THEY FOUND THE BREACH THEY SHOULD HAVE ALERTED ALL MEDIA, ETC. INSTEAD EVERYONE WAS CONSUMING THE WATER ALL EVENING WEDNESDAY, OVERNIGHT AND THURSDAY TIL LATE AFTERNOON. HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM.
ReplyDeleteThe borough didn't know at 2:10 p.m.? That is a problem.
DeleteReports say the "break-in" was DISCOVERED Thursday morning, but how does anyone know when it actually occurred? Are the locks checked daily? If not, then we do have a problem, because it won't be possible to determine the night of the break-in.
I received the automatic emergency phone call notification from the water company at 2:09 pm so I have a hard time believing that the borough didn't know at 2:10pm. Perhaps the OP is having trouble with telling time?
DeleteJUST READ THE UPDATE HERE...DAVE LEWIS GENERAL MGR WATER CO SAID THEY DISCOVERED THE TAMPERED WATER TOWER AT 9:00 AM THURSDAY MORNING.......DEAR GOD, WHAT WERE THEY THINKING???? THEY KNOW FOR HOURS AND HOURS AND DID AND SAID NOTHING....OUR BABIES ARE IN OUR SCHOOLS, WE ALL ARE DRINKING AND USING OUR WATER ALL DAY LONG....
ReplyDeleteTHEY SHOULD BE AN INVESTIGATION AS TO WHY, WHY DID IT TAKE FROM 9 AM UNTIL 2 OR 3 PM TO NOTIFY ANY PUBLIC OR MEDIA????????? DEFINITELY SOMETHING IS VERY VERY WRONG HERE.
It took six hours for them to notify us, but there's still no info on how they determined the night of the break-in.
DeleteI can NOT believe that Dave Lewis general mgr of the Cola Water Co stated (openly) that the breach was discovered at 9 am......what the hell? tells us LOUDLY how they feel about us..what, we are not important enough to be notified of the breach and left to consume this potentially lethal water and continue ALL day to give it unknowingly (unlike the employees of Cola Water Co) to our babies, our elderly, our sick????? Something is wrong with the way this was handled and I would be surprosed if some gov't agencies do NOT get involved and investigate that (the response the water co took and the amount of time it took to relay pertinent information to the public)
ReplyDeleteGood point. I wonder if employees of the water company got a head start on warning their families.
Deletedoes a cola water co employee climb the towers (all 8 of them) daily to inspect them for any breach???????
ReplyDeleteI'd like to add my 2 cents, I called the boro office at 2:11 pm and they knew NOTHING.....the person I spoke to at the BORO said the boro had NOT received a call from the cola water co, although it had in fact received a few calls from residents who HAD got a message.....they said they were trying to find out what was going on. and in fact the person i talked to said they were going online to the cola water co website , as we speak, to look for any info.. thank you! you seemed at least to care, where as the cola water co, evidently didn't, doesn't...waited how many hours to notifiy the public???? and guessing that its safe to bathe in and do dishes in???? seriously.this is a problem.
ReplyDeleteALL BUSINESSES, BORO MUNICIPAL OFFICE, SCHOOLS, NURSING HOMES, FIRE DEPTS, EMERGENCY PERSONNEL, ETC SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED IMMEDIATELY AT 9 AM.....FOLLOWED BY ALL RESIDENTS AND COLA WATER CO USERS....THE WATER CO NEEDS TO HAVE AN EMERGENCY PLAN IN PLACE (AUTOMATED SYSTEM) TO IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY ALL ..........the fact that they don't IS a question i have.
oh i forgot to mention i tried unsuccessfully many many times to contact the cola water co, who was responsible for this, but their phone lines were all busy.....and the employees all went home and closed up shop like it was an ordinary day...i know because i drove in to the water co to try to answers to questions..the place was locked up and completely dark...........hello???
yes i too would like more info on the how the cola water co discovered the breach????
ReplyDeletewhat a shame the water co cose to respond the way they did. it would have been helpful and eased fears to man the water co office for the duration...answer questions..set up free bottles of water in the downtown area...i could go on and on....
ReplyDeleteI get the impression they didn't know what to do after they made the discovery.
Deletetake note-Columbia Water Co you HAVE failed miserably. Lost a lot of public trust. AGAIN.
ReplyDeleteTheir credibility has been damaged.
Deleteyes it has...and the water quality hasn't been up to par for at least a couple years.....put water in a pot and just let it sit for a day or two, you'll be amazed what it looks like.
ReplyDelete