CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department (KCHD) said traces of E. coli have been detected in a residential water well in eastern Kanawha County following the recent flash flooding.
Samples were taken by a member of the KCHD’s Environmental Health Division from private and community wells in flood-ravaged neighborhoods. Up to six inches of rain had fallen in some areas of eastern Kanawha County on Monday, August 28.
“Fortunately, the majority of residents in the area are hooked into a public water supply,” said KCHD Health Officer Dr. Steven Eshenaur. “Unfortunately, not very many of the residents who get their water from private or community wells have taken us up on our offer to test their well water for free.
E. coli is common in floodwaters and can affect a drinking water well. Residents are being advised not to drink from a well if it is contaminated, or if they are not sure it is contaminated and need a test to be done.
The following steps are recommended by KCHD sanitarians to make a well microbiologically safe:
To chlorinate a well, mix one gallon of liquid bleach (5¼ percent) with four gallons of water and pour the mixture into the well. Run water through all water lines inside and outside the house until you can smell a slight chlorine odor coming from the spigots. Don’t use water again for 12 hours. After 12 hours, run water from each spigot until the chlorine odor disappears. Continue to use water as normal for five days. Call KCHD’s Environmental Health Division at 304-348-8050 for repeat testing to confirm that the bacteria is gone.
“I hope this message gets out to those residents, who clearly have so much going on in their lives right now. We really don’t want an emergency room visit for an E. coli infection to be one more ordeal they have to contend with right now,” Eshenaur said.
The KCHD is asking residents to contact them if their well has been exposed to floodwaters. Well water testing is free to any home or business in Kanawha County affected by flooding.