We talked about this on Twitter over the weekend. I spoke with Gary O’Connell with Albemarle County Service Authority today and he was kind enough to send the following: (please read to the end)
Late last week and into Friday, new water treatment equipment at the Crozet Water Treatment Plant needed to be serviced unexpectedly. In order to properly service the equipment, the water treatment plant production schedule had to be changed. This included greater reliance on one of the water tanks, which may have led to the water discoloration (natural minerals in the water that are not a health risk). While the discolored water was not aesthetically pleasing, it is safe and meets all federal and state drinking water standards.
We received some calls late Friday and over the weekend from Highlands, Old Trail, Parkside Village, Cory Farm, Foothill Crossing, Brookwood/Crozet Park Area and Westlake Hills.
Even during a Drought Warning and mandatory restrictions, water quality comes first. Flushing from a fire hydrant is one of the best ways to quickly clear out discolored water and replace it with fresh water. We have conducted minimal flushing near the Water Treatment Plant on 240 and several other locations in Crozet to remove the discolored water.
This discoloration, contrary to some social media posts, has nothing to do with algae in the reservoir, nor with the drought. The discoloration seems to be related to the equipment failure, and subsequent flushing appears to have slowly cleared up the Crozet water system.
The ACSA has active Twitter/Facebook/Instagram postings where we list all water related issues and water emergencies that our customers can utilize. Also for an immediate response to a water quality concern or other water related issue, please call our 24/7 on call number at 434-977-4511, we will immediately respond to check out any water related issue. Our goal is safe, clean and reliable water for your use.
We apologize for any concerns this might have raised.
Gary
Gary O’Connell
Executive Director
Albemarle County Service Authority
(434)977-4511
EVERY DROP COUNTS! CONSERVE OUR PRECIOUS WATER
A few thoughts –
- The water is fine.
- I’m profoundly impressed that ASCA has an active Twitter account; they responded at 9:19pm on Friday night.
- Walled-gardens kill the internets. I like NextDoor; I was an early adopter of it in 2014, the Albemarle County Police are there now, and the site is a great thing. But it’s not the internet. It’s not open. It’s not searchable by outsiders. And that sucks.
- Recently in Crozet, there have been issues with water (ASCA), cable (Comcast and here), and Verizon and here. Lots of discussions on NextDoor as well, but … Comcast, Verizon, and ASCA aren’t there … so … lots of information and complaints to an echo chamber.
- If you have an issue, mention them on Twitter, @ me at RealCrozetVA and I’ll retweet as necessary … or … call them so they have a record. If one person calls, one person tweets, and 19 people tell each other on a piece of the internet that the service provider can’t see … there are only two reports of an issue. End ranty advice.
- We are in a drought. Be a good neighbor and community member and conserve, please.
We had this discussion in 2014 as well.
