Virginia’s water treatment plant, located near the city of Wilmington, has been closed since October because of a lack of rain.
The plant has a capacity of 100 million litres a day, but the authorities say there is a small amount available for wastewater treatment, which is supposed to be safe.
The Virginias Water Treatment Plant, near Wilmington, Delaware.
Reuters/Brian SnyderThe plant was shut down for three weeks because of poor rain conditions and a lack to provide treatment to residents.
Virginias officials said on Thursday that the plant will reopen on December 11.
Virginias Water and Sewer Authority told the Associated Press news agency that it will be a few days before the water supply is available for treatment.
It is a case of water quality and water safety being neglected, said Elizabeth Foy, a spokesman for the authority.
“The water quality at this point is not in a good state and that’s why we have been forced to close the plant,” Foy told the AP.
“We are in a situation where we have to do this and we have a few weeks to get our water back to normal.”
Virginias water plant was closed due to poor rainfall conditions in Wilmington, Del.
Reuters/Brian Wayne The water is supposed be safe, Foy said.
“It’s a waste product and we are not going to let it get that bad,” she said.
Foy said she was unable to confirm whether the water was actually safe.
“We will monitor the situation closely.
We are monitoring all the water, and if we have any issues we will take action,” she added.”
But right now, we have no water.
We have not received any water.”