UPDATE: Boil Water Near Ward and Lavalette LIFTED
Last modified on December 29th, 2022 at 10:37 am
Update as of 10:36 a.m., Dec. 29: This Boil Water Notice has been lifted after testing found no contamination.
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Water system personnel have repaired a leak in a water line near the intersection of Ward Avenue and Lavalette Avenue. A Boil Water Notice is now in effect for customers on Ward Avenue, between South Davis and Livingston. Also under the Boil Water Notice are customers south of Ward Avenue on Lavalette Avenue, Green Lane, Taylor Avenue, and Bond Lane. (The Boil Water Notice does not include any customers on South Davis Avenue or Livingston Avenue.)
The approximate area of the Boil Water Notice is marked in red on the map below.
The earliest that laboratory testing can be completed and the notice lifted is Thursday, December 29.
Boil Water Notices are issued out of an abundance of caution because positive pressure has been lost and the possibility of contamination exists, not because contamination has been detected. The presence or absence of contamination must be confirmed by an independent lab through a testing process that requires at least 24 hours after delivery of a sample. Samples cannot be taken until the leak has been repaired and service has been restored. Samples can only be submitted during business hours. For more information about what to do under a Boil Water Notice, click here.
Notification will be sent out when the Boil Water Notice is lifted. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your patience during this time.
To keep up to date on these and similar announcements, please bookmark this blog post and follow these channels:
- Sign up for emergency email and text-message alerts
- Elkins City Hall Facebook page
- Elkins City Hall Twitter account
UPDATE: Boil Water Near Lavallette LIFTED
Last modified on August 24th, 2022 at 08:22 am
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Water system personnel are responding to a water leak in a service line in the 1400 block of Lavallette Avenue. Water had to be secured as quickly as possible to minimize flooding.
While repairs are underway, water will be off or low pressure for customers on Lavalette Avenue, Taylor Avenue, and their adjacent alleys, as well parts of 13th Street and Livingston Avenue. (The approximate area is shown in red on the below map.) South Davis Avenue customers are not served by the affected lines.
After repairs are complete and service has been restored, a Boil Water Notice will be in effect for these customers (not including South Davis Avenue customers). The earliest that laboratory testing can be completed and the notice lifted is Wednesday, August 24.
Boil Water Notices are issued out of an abundance of caution because positive pressure has been lost and the possibility of contamination exists, not because contamination has been detected. The presence or absence of contamination must be confirmed by an independent lab through a testing process that requires at least 24 hours after delivery of a sample. Samples cannot be taken until the leak has been repaired and service has been restored. Samples can only be submitted during business hours. For more information about what to do under a Boil Water Notice, click here.
Notification will be sent out when the Boil Water Notice is lifted. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your patience during this time.
To keep up to date on these and similar announcements, please bookmark this blog post and follow these channels:
- Sign up for emergency email and text-message alerts
- Elkins City Hall Facebook page
- Elkins City Hall Twitter account
UPDATE: Boil Water on Reed, Worth, Industrial Park Road LIFTED
Last modified on August 16th, 2022 at 09:27 am
Update as of 8/16 at 8:01 a.m.: This Boil Water Notice has been lifted. Lab testing found no contamination.
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Water system personnel are responding to a water leak under Worth Avenue, near Main Street.
While repairs are underway, water will be off to some customers on Reed Street/Worth Avenue/Industrial Park Road between Gorman Avenue and 11th Street. (The approximate area is shown in red on the below map.)
Tonight’s weather may slow repair time.
After repairs are complete and service has been restored, a Boil Water Notice will be in effect for these customers. The earliest that laboratory testing can be completed and the notice lifted is Tuesday, August 16.
Boil Water Notices are issued out of an abundance of caution because positive pressure has been lost and the possibility of contamination exists, not because contamination has been detected. The presence or absence of contamination must be confirmed by an independent lab through a testing process that requires at least 24 hours after delivery of a sample. Samples cannot be taken until the leak has been repaired and service has been restored. Samples can only be submitted during business hours. For more information about what to do under a Boil Water Notice, click here.
Notification will be sent out when the Boil Water Notice is lifted. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your patience during this time.
To keep up to date on these and similar announcements, please bookmark this blog post and follow these channels:
- Sign up for emergency email and text-message alerts
- Elkins City Hall Facebook page
- Elkins City Hall Twitter account
UPDATE: Boil Water On Yokum Street LIFTED
Last modified on August 12th, 2022 at 09:15 am
Update as of 8/12, 9:05 a.m.: This Boil Water Notice has been lifted. Lab testing found no contamination.
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Water system personnel are responding to a water leak near the intersection of Yokum Street and Robert E. Lee Avenue.
While repairs are underway, water will be off to customers on Yokum Avenue. (The approximate area is shown in yellow on the below map. The affected water line is shown in red.)
Tonight’s frequent downpours may slow repair time.
After repairs are complete and service has been restored, a Boil Water Notice will be in effect for these same customers. The earliest that laboratory testing can be completed and the notice lifted is Friday, August 12.
Boil Water Notices are issued out of an abundance of caution because positive pressure has been lost and the possibility of contamination exists, not because contamination has been detected. The presence or absence of contamination must be confirmed by an independent lab through a testing process that requires at least 24 hours after delivery of a sample. Samples cannot be taken until the leak has been repaired and service has been restored. Samples can only be submitted during business hours. For more information about what to do under a Boil Water Notice, click here.
Notification will be sent out when the Boil Water Notice is lifted. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your patience during this time.
To keep up to date on these and similar announcements, please bookmark this blog post and follow these channels:
- Sign up for emergency email and text-message alerts
- Elkins City Hall Facebook page
- Elkins City Hall Twitter account
UPDATE: Boil Water Near Old High School LIFTED
Last modified on April 9th, 2022 at 07:47 am
Update as of Saturday, 4/9, 7:30 a.m.: This Boil Water Notice has been lifted. Lab testing found no contamination.
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Update as of Friday, 4/8: The Boil Water Notice remains in effect. The earliest that laboratory testing can be completed and the notice lifted is Saturday, April 9.
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Crews are responding to a water leak in the vicinity of 13th Street and South Henry, near the old Elkins High School and current RCPS bus garage.
While repairs are underway, water will be off to customers on sections of Cole Avenue, 13th Street, 15th Street, South Henry Avenue, and South Kerens Avenue. (The approximate area is shown in yellow on the below map. The affected water lines are shown in red.)
After repairs are complete and service has been restored, a Boil Water Notice will be in effect for these same customers. The earliest that laboratory testing can be completed and the notice lifted is Saturday, April 9.
Boil Water Notices are issued out of an abundance of caution because positive pressure has been lost and the possibility of contamination exists, not because contamination has been detected. The presence or absence of contamination must be confirmed by an independent lab through a testing process that requires at least 24 hours after delivery of a sample. Samples cannot be taken until the leak has been repaired and service has been restored. Samples can only be submitted during business hours. For more information about what to do under a Boil Water Notice, click here.
Notification will be sent out when the Boil Water Notice is lifted. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your patience during this time.
To keep up to date on these and similar announcements, please follow these channels:
- Sign up for emergency email and text-message alerts
- Elkins City Hall Facebook page
- Elkins City Hall Twitter account
UPDATE: Boil Water on Ferguson Road LIFTED
Last modified on March 6th, 2022 at 01:57 pm
Update as of March 6, 1;08 p.m.: This Boil Water Notice has been lifted. No contamination was detected.
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As a result of loss of pressure on a water main during repair of a leak, a Boil Water Notice has been issued for water customers on Ferguson Road east of Harris Street. The earliest that laboratory testing can be completed and the notice lifted is Sunday, March 6.
Boil Water Notices are issued out of an abundance of caution because positive pressure has been lost and the possibility of contamination exists, not because contamination has been detected. The presence or absence of contamination must be confirmed by an independent lab through a testing process that requires at least 24 hours after delivery of a sample. Samples cannot be taken until the leak has been repaired and service has been restored. Samples can only be submitted during business hours. For more information about what to do under a Boil Water Notice, click here.
Notification will be sent out when the Boil Water Notice is lifted. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your patience during this time.
To keep up to date on these and similar announcements, please follow the following channels:
- Sign up for emergency email and text-message alerts
- Elkins City Hall Facebook page
- Elkins City Hall Twitter account
Updated: Boil Water on Ward Avenue Lifted
Last modified on December 18th, 2021 at 08:04 am
Update as of Dec. 18, 8 a.m.: The Ward Avenue Boil Water Notice has been lifted. Lab testing found no contamination.
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Update as of 12/17, 9 a.m.: Repairs are complete. A sample is being submitted for independent lab testing this morning. Earliest results will be available morning of 12/18.
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Water Service Interruption South of Sixteenth Street
As a result of loss of pressure on a water main during repair of a leak, a Boil Water Notice has been issued for water customers on Ward Avenue in First Ward. The earliest update concerning this notice will be on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 18.
During repairs, water customers in South Elkins south of Sixteenth Street will experience low or no water pressure, but the Boil Water Notice only affects Ward Avenue.
Boil Water Notices are issued out of an abundance of caution because positive pressure has been lost and the possibility of contamination exists, not because contamination has been detected. The presence or absence of contamination must be confirmed by an independent lab through a testing process that requires at least 24 hours after delivery of a sample. Samples cannot be taken until the leak has been repaired and service has been restored. Samples can only be submitted during business hours. For more information about what to do under a Boil Water Notice, click here.
Notification will be sent out when the Boil Water Notice is lifted. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your patience during this time.
To keep up to date on these and similar announcements, please follow the following channels:
- Sign up for emergency email and text-message alerts
- Elkins City Hall Facebook page
- Elkins City Hall Twitter account
Why So Many Water Outages?
There is clearly an unacceptable number of ongoing water outages and sometimes resulting Boil Water Notices.
What is going on?
One major reason is that many underground water lines in Elkins are past their end-of-life and need to be replaced.
The reason problems have spiked lately in South Elkins, however, is related to the great amount of soil disturbance that occurred as part of the sewer/stormwater separation project earlier this year. (It appears that the soil under much of South Elkins is *extremely* soft and bordering on liquid in places.)
Making things even worse are the large number of broken valves throughout our system. Valves are used to turn off the flow of water to certain sections of the system.
In a perfect world, for last night’s repair on Whiteman Avenue, we could have closed a valve that would have caused an outage for only a small number of surrounding customers.
However, because many of the smaller valves are not functioning, it is necessary to instead turn off valves on larger mains, which results in outages over a much wider area. (This is one reason why our water workers often attempt to make repairs “under pressure,” meaning without turning off the water, to avoid these outages. This means they must work with spraying water, which is obviously less practical as the weather gets colder.)
So, what is the city doing about this?
Council has dedicated a portion of ARPA funds to an engineering study and plan for the systematic replacement and upgrading of the city’s water lines. Although we won’t know exact costs of such a project until this study is complete, it will likely cost tens of millions of dollars.
Addressing this problem is a current focus of council and the Water Board and plans are being formulated to address it, however it will be a long process. It may be that the valve issue is “low hanging fruit” and could be addressed sooner than later, reducing the number of widespread outages. We are actively working to determine this.
Some Facebook commenters have wondered what would happen if there were a fire in an area experiencing an outage. Keep in mind that these outages result not from the water-main break but from turning off the water at a valve. If there were a fire and hydrants were needed in an affected area, we would simply reenergize the valve and restore service. Although this would cause the broken pipe to start leaking again, this would obviously be acceptable in the face of a need to protect life and property from fire.
Other Facebook commenters wondered why we don’t predict when repairs will be completed when there are outages. The problem is that we just don’t know. For example, especially due to the extremely brittle cast-iron pipes prevalent in South Elkins, sometimes turning the water on after one leak triggers another, which can as much as double repair times. It is just not practical to try to accurately predict repair times.
Another issue: Even if we had the tens of millions of dollars necessary to make all needed improvements in hand right now, there are and will continue to be significant inventory problems, due to both the pandemic supply-chain issues and the fact that every city in the country has ARPA funds to spend on projects like this, including huge cities with much larger projects *and* much larger ARPA disbursements that are able to basically clear the shelves of the same pipes and valves we would need.
Everyone at the city (many of whom live in South Elkins are affected themselves) is frustrated about this situation and deeply regrets the frequent inconvenience. We hope everyone understands that this is a big problem that cannot be fixed overnight but is being worked on.
Follow the below links to learn more about:
Boil Water in Fifth Ward
Last modified on December 2nd, 2021 at 09:41 am
Update as of Dec. 2, 9 a.m.: The Boil Water Notice in Fifth Ward has been lifted after lab testing found no contamination.
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As a result of loss of pressure on a water main caused by a leak, a Boil Water Notice has been issued for water customers in Fifth Ward in the area bounded by Eleventh Street, South Davis Avenue, and the Tygart River. (See map at the bottom of this post.) The earliest update concerning this notice will be on the morning of Thursday, Dec. 2.
Boil Water Notices are issued out of an abundance of caution because positive pressure has been lost and the possibility of contamination exists, not because contamination has been detected. The presence or absence of contamination must be confirmed by an independent lab through a testing process that requires at least 24 hours after delivery of a sample. For more information about what to do under a Boil Water Notice, click here.
Notification will be sent out when the Boil Water Notice is lifted. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your patience during this time.
To keep up to date on these and similar announcements, please follow the following channels:
- Sign up for emergency email and text-message alerts
- Elkins City Hall Facebook page
- Elkins City Hall Twitter account
South Elkins Boil Water Advisory
Last modified on November 27th, 2021 at 10:16 am
** Update: November 27, 10:15 AM**
The boil water notice in South Elkins has been lifted. Laboratory testing found no contamination.
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As a result of loss of pressure on a water main caused by a leak, a Boil Water Notice has been issued for water customers in South Elkins in the area bounded by Bond Lane, Ward Avenue, the Tygart River, and Whiteman Avenue. (See map at the bottom of this post.)
Boil Water Notices are issued out of an abundance of caution because positive pressure has been lost and the possibility of contamination exists, not because contamination has been detected. The presence or absence of contamination must be confirmed by an independent lab through a testing process that requires at least 24 hours after delivery of a sample. For more information about what to do under a Boil Water Notice, click here.
Notification will be sent out when the Boil Water Notice is lifted. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your patience during this time.
To keep up to date on these and similar announcements, please follow the following channels:
- Sign up for emergency email and text-message alerts
- Elkins City Hall Facebook page
- Elkins City Hall Twitter account
Alerts
MLK Day (1/16) Schedule
Elkins City Hall will be closed on Monday, January 16 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Garbage service will run on regular schedule.
Christmas Tree Disposal
The City of Elkins Street Department will collect Christmas trees for disposal January 3-20. Please place trees at the curb after removing all ornaments, tinsel, lights, etc.
Starting Jan. 1: No more phone payments
Starting Jan. 1, City of Elkins will no longer accept phone payments for any city bills or services. Learn more.
No Spring Cleanup
Because of the city’s monthly bulk-item pickup program, we will no longer be offering Spring Cleanup. Don’t wait until spring, put your items out each month. Find the schedule for pickups here.
Bulk Pickups Schedule Change
As of the week of October 17, the bulk-item pickup schedule is changing. Find the new schedule here.
Water Issues?
Last modified on May 8th, 2022 at 10:51 am
Got a non-emergency water issue? Report it online by clicking here.
