What strange advice. Won't matter. Might make things a whole lot worse. The advice given is bizarre.

This is a new level in local reporting. Or omission. This is a journalistic event locally. Did we just quietly tilt into the realm where PR replaced reporting?

Not really sure but I believe the sludge contains a mild sulfuric acid or maybe lye. The sludge ponds contain fly ash from the burnt coal. I don't think I would drink it even after boiling it, but some old timers could use it for making lye soap.

Boiling water does seem like strange advice. Did they say who these residents are who should be doing this? The failure seems to be downstream of any likely water intake, except that the rupture looks like it happened on the uphill side of the retention pond, and the sludge actually flowed up a length of Swan Pond Creek. It may be that the force of the water and ash caused local seismic events that muddied well water, but not necessarily with sludge.

Anyway, this is a serious mess. It completely buried the mouth of Swan Pond Creek and polluted the last stretch of the Emory River where it is inundated behind Watts Bar Dam. Swan Pond Creek could potentially back up when it next rains, and if it does not, it will be transporting more ash into Watts Bar Lake. That impoundment already collects silt from Oak Ridge, so it's hardly pristine to begin with.

That retention pond seems awfully large, like it may have outgrown its capacity. The sludge was likely saturated from the recent rains, then freezing caused the exposed earthen bank to crust up and wick water toward it, and the expansion weakened it, setting the stage for a crack to become catastrophe. I wonder whether TVA expanded the pond instead of dredging it and transporting ash off site.

Some more info posted over at RoaneViews that might provide a clue re. the water situation:

Mayor and Council:

Roane Central’s lines are not impacted. I called Bob Creswell to see if Roane Central could expedite construction of the pressure water line which they are constructing. He has called the engineer, and we are told that construction will take about 10 days. This will be the fastest way for customers to obtain water service.

Swan Pond Road along with the railroad are completely inundated with about six feet of mud and ash. The gravity water line, Harriman’s wastewater plant effluent line, telephone, gas and electric are all gone. The embayment area of the lake is filled up with ash and mud. Several houses have no access. I assume TVA will try to place transportation back into service as quickly as possible in order to keep the plant operating and provide access to residents. Restoration of other services could take several weeks.

We normally get about 30 percent of our water from the spring. As you know we maintain enough plant capacity to carry the demand if we were to lose the spring, but treating the spring water is much less expensive than treating river water. I would expect that TVA will repair the gravity line, but it make take several weeks.

Jim [Pinkerton - City Manager]

If I read some of the other comments correctly, some people are using untreated spring water and well water.

This still doesn't explain the "boil your water" advice or where it's coming from.

Our newsroom got a call from Roane County EMA (I think) last night around 7:15. They asked us to get the word out that anyone who gets their water from the gravity-fed spring in the Swan Pond area should boil their water until further notice. When asked if the sewage had ruptured and contaminated the drinking water, EMA said it's not about the sewage, but rather out of concern for the chemicals in the ash mixture (See Randy's earlier post with link to info about ash).

Earlier in the day Monday, TVA CEO Tom Kilgore said in a news conference that there was concern about the level of chemicals in the sludge and that TVA will be testing the water in a nearby river where there is a water intake site.

So, suffice it to say that TVA admits that there are chemicals of concern in the mixture, and the water should be boiled because there are people who get their water from a spring in the area that may be contaminated or at risk of contamination.

Clear as mud?

Thanks for that info, Michael. If there are concerns about toxins, then boiling water won't do anything except make it worse. You could probably find someone over at UT to explain that to your viewers (and to TVA and public officials).

I see WBIR is also advising people to boil their water. From the dead fish report mentioned in another post:

Kingston City Manager James Pinkerton says the city's water system remains safe and in good condition. While one water intake, a spring, was covered with ash during the ashslide, he does not expect any problems with supply or contamination.

Residents with wells in the area are being advised to boil their water before drinking it, however.

and other spin sheets from the phalanx of spin shops and pr flacks in our community, they get all dumbed down and their idea of newsgathering is calling a spokesperson for comment.

Why does no one bother to contact people who are familiar with the construction and monitoring of earthen dams, the Army Corp. of Engineers would be a good start, they took a butt whipping in Katrina and they know what causes water to burst through all types of materials. Also, EPA and TDEC would have a comment on fly ash and what it is and what its properties are and any assorted dangers which may flow from it, why would it be kept in a water pond anyway?

TVA owns or manages most of the waterways being polluted by the Ash such that it's probably not newsgathering to continue to stick a mike in the face of Gil Francis or any of the rest of the TVA honchos, even if they will speak.

Wonder if the same guys monitoring the earthen dams are the guys monitoring radiation levels at the TVA nuclear facilities.

I wouldn't drink that water even if it was boiled. This is insane. Some agency should bring safe water to these people. Some agency should test the water today and let the people know what is in it.

Makes NRR look small time.

Boiling water would only reduce biological agents - microorganisms. Does nothing to reduce heavy metal contamination, dissolved solids, etc.

Reverse osmosis or activated carbon would be more effective reductors of these agents, in case anyone is interested. But those are expensive and TVA wouldn't want to have to admit anything looking like "fault."

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