THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 6, 1994 TAG: 9407060388
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONY GERMANOTTA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
Ladies and gentlemen, start your sprinklers.
The tap water may still taste a bit brackish, but city officials said Tuesday that sporadic storms over the holiday weekend had solved Chesapeake's latest salinity crisis.
The city manager, therefore, is expected today to lift mandatory water restrictions that have been in place since Friday.
That will once again make it legal to turn a hose on parched lawns and cruddy cars. Kiddie pools can be filled, and restaurants can resume offering water without their customers asking first.
The water-use restrictions were imposed last week after a pattern of dry weather and southerly winds pushed salty water up from the Currituck Sound to the intakes at the city's water treatment plant on the Northwest River.
The city tried to improve the taste by turning on emergency wells that were less brackish but higher in sodium.
Last week, the treated river water had up to 455 milligrams of chloride per liter, which gave it an unpleasant salty taste. It also contained 218 milligrams of tasteless sodium per liter, a level that could concern those watching their intake of that chemical. Health officials recommended that those on a severely restricted sodium diet avoid drinking from spigots.
By Tuesday, however, the chloride level had dropped to 152 milligrams - well below the 250 milligrams-per-liter federal ``taste threshold'' standard.
The sodium level had also plummeted to 76 milligrams per liter. There are no federal standards for how much sodium is allowed in a water supply, and neither chemical is regulated for safety reasons.
Mark S. Cox, a spokesman for the city, said that water quality had been improving since Saturday.
Amar Dwarkanath, director of public utilities, said that thunderstorms over the weekend had dumped a lot of rain on the Northwest River watershed, helping flush it of salinity. In addition, he said, the winds had shifted, driving salty water back to the Currituck Sound. Those favorable winds are expected to continue.
Virginia Beach residents have been living under mandatory water restrictions since February 1992.
Chesapeake officials urged customers not to waste water even after restrictions are lifted, and asked that everyone voluntarily continue to follow the limitations on water use. ``Water is a precious commodity here,'' Dwarkanath said. by CNB