CHAPMANVILLE - A smelly sewer drain in Chapmanville, West Virginia has residents sounding the alarm. "It's unhealthy!" claimed one city councilman to the Logan Banner.
The drain outside of a popular grocery store in Chapmanville emits such a profoundly unpleasant odor that residents are asking the town to address the issue and make change. Towne N' Country, the grocer in question, is being accused of negligence. The councilman claimed Towne N' Country was neglecting its duties in failing to properly maintain their pipes.
But Chapmanville is not the only area of West Virginia that you can find stinky drains. Five distinct boil advisories for different areas in West Virginia were issued for October 24, 2020, according to West Virginia Gazette Mail.
"Boil advisories" are edicts issued by a city, state, or municipality which advises residents in a particular area to boil water before consumption. Boil advisories are usually issued as a result of a contamination of the area's water source. For example, a few residential streets may be issued a boil advisory because of a water main break which affected them, but not their neighbors.
Parents are concerned for the safety of their children and the sanctity of West Virginian drinking water. There are plenty of considerations in making sure that your child is getting enough drinking water without worrying that the water itself might be dangerous.
In reality, babies should go without water for the first six months of life, and children above that age should not experience any adverse effects from drinking most municipal drinking water in West Virginia.
That doesn't make smelly water any easier to cope with, but there are plenty of ways consumers can fix their stinky situation.
First, homeowners can remember to properly maintain their water softeners as a preventative measure. When it comes to keeping water and drainpipes from getting that distinctly musty or "moldy" smell, investing in prevention goes a long way. Homeowners can usually get away with using a drain cleaner every 4 months.
However, some issues cannot be resolved by upkeeping a water softener. These issues tend to be more serious to treat. Though they are usually not harmful to the wellbeing of humans, waters with odors that resemble eggs, sulfur, or metal are indicative of more complex problems. The reason that these waters demand your attention is that they are often accompanied by costly plumbing repairs if left untreated for long periods. (And, not least of all, they are extremely unpleasant to drink!)
In these cases, consumers are advised to test their water or request that their city or municipality do so. There are also filtration options that can solve certain odor issues. There are a variety of different consumer filtration options which cater to a variety of budgets. Those who find their water difficult to shower in might invest in a showerhead only, whereas their neighbor might buy a pitcher with an entire filtration system built into it. Sometimes, the only solution to a smelly water issue is to tear out the entire plumbing system and start anew.
Though smells might not represent danger to human health, changes in texture or the appearance of water should be a cause of concern for homeowners. Oily surface area or cloudy water are signs that residents should avoid drinking the water and contact a water quality professional immediately.
Keep tabs on local boil advisories issued in your city. You can visit your county's website or municipality's website for these notices, and follow their respective social media pages for up to the minute news.
In the meantime, Chapmanville residents should hold their noses up high when they shop at Town N' Country. (Not that they have much of a choice, if one were to ask a certain councilman.) It doesn't seem like that drain is going to be cleaned up any time soon.
According to Chapmanville's supervisor of street and sanitation, Steve Savage, the only hope of cleaning up the stinky drain is to appeal to Town N' Country, which owns the property the offending drain sits on. Savage told the Logan Banner that his only hope of solving the mystery would be access to plumbing inside Town N' Country's restrooms.
But other West Virginians have other solutions at their disposal. Residents concerned with their own water quality in the Chapmanville area should use water testing kits to determine the safety of their drinking water. Otherwise, there are plenty of consumer priced, DIY-friendly filtration options that should keep stinky water at bay.
