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Supervisor to add Lakelandor discolored-tap-water complaints to board agenda
Summary
Supervisor Jeff Black said hundreds of residents in the Lakelandor area reported tea-colored tap water and some went about 36 hours without usable water; he told the board he will add the incident as an amendment to the agenda and has contacted state regulators.
Supervisor Jeff Black of Western Caroline told the Caroline County Board of Supervisors on May 27 that he will add an amendment to the meeting agenda after hundreds of residents in the Lakelandor community reported tea-colored tap water and, in some cases, were left without usable water for about 36 hours.
The report matters because the board may need to direct county staff or coordinate with state regulators and the affected utility to ensure residents have safe drinking water and clear communication. Black said he had contacted state agencies and attempted to reach the water company and the utility’s trade association.
Black said residents in Lakelandor “were drinking or facing tea colored water coming out of their faucets” and that some households went “36 hours without being able to bathe, [or] drink water.” He told the board there was “no communication whatsoever until this afternoon at 4:00 from the company in regards to what was happening.”
Black said he spoke with the Office of Drinking Water and the State Corporation Commission and sent an email to the president of ACWA; he said he had not received a reply from ACWA by the time he spoke. He also said he had photographs documenting the water quality issues.
At the time Black spoke the board had not taken formal action on the matter; he said he planned to add it as an amendment to the agenda for further consideration. The transcript does not record the board’s vote on adding the item or any staff reports, and no timetable for follow-up was given.
The board may consider directing staff to coordinate with state regulators, request a report from the utility, or set a hearing for resident comments when the item returns to the agenda. Black’s remarks came during the opening board-comments portion of the meeting and were presented as a request to add the item for later discussion.
