Where and How to Learn More About the Wilderness Water Treatment Plant Incident and Response
By: Orange County Communications Department
On Wednesday, August 21, an incident occurred that impacted customers of the Wilderness Water Treatment Plant (WTP), operated by Rapidan Service Authority (RSA). Following initial reports by users and plant staff of an unusual odor in the water supply, RSA issued a “ Do Not Use Advisory. ” Later that day, Orange County issued a Local State of Emergency and activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Over the next several days, Orange County departments worked with multiple local, state, and federal agencies, including Rapidan Service Authority (RSA), the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM), Virginia ’ s Department of General Services Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services (DCLS), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to ensure the safety of the water supply and restore access to residents, to communicate information, to investigate the cause of the incident, and to provide resources to those impacted for the duration of the state of emergency and beyond. As the situation improved, the “ Do Not Use Advisory ” was reduced to a “ Do Not Drink Advisory ” on Saturday, August 24. On Tuesday, August 27, this advisory was also lifted, and Orange County ended the Local State of Emergency. We understand that many of our residents were impacted by this event, and they may have remaining questions and concerns. With that in mind, please visit the following resources which provide the most updated information regarding the incident, the response, the investigation, and what continues to be done.
The best collection of updated information is available on the incident webpage hosted by VDH at: www.vdh.virginia.gov/drinking - water/wilderness - water - treatment - plant - contamination .
Additionally, a detailed update regarding the incident was presented to the Orange County Board of Supervisors at the September 10 Board Meeting. A recording of that presentation is available for public viewing in our Agendas & Minutes Portal. The presentation regarding the water incident begins at timestamp 2:09. Access the video directly using the link below.
https://orangecova.portal.civicclerk.com/event/338/media
Page 4 | September 2024
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