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Water Auxiliary Safe

Pesticide Pollutes Water Supply

By Mike Gartlan
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

A pesticide has washed into a
tributary of the Rivanna River and may
have contaminated the Rivanna Reservoir,
the principle source of drinking water in
the Charlottesville area.

The pesticide has been tentatively
identified as Endrin.

City officials received word of the
possible contamination of the Mechum
River in time to switch to auxiliary
sources of water before the
contamination could reach the reservoir.
Drinking water for Charlottesville is now being
supplied by the Sugar Hollow and Ragged
Mountain Reservoirs which are free of any
pesticides, according to officials.

The State Water Control Board (SWCB)
announcement Wednesday cautioned against
drinking the water below the confluence of the
Mechum and Rivanna Rivers by man or
livestock until further word from it and the
State Health Department.

'No Danger'

In the same announcement, the board
assured that "there is no danger to
Charlottesville's present drinking water."

According to a board spokesman, the source
of the pesticide is believed to be an orchard
spraying operation along the Mechum River. A
rain that followed the spraying produced a
runoff of water containing the pesticide. The
spokesman refused to reveal the location of
the orchard.

A reliable source in Charlottesville said that
the pesticide entered Mechum River somewhere
above its confluence with Stockton Creek south
of U.S. 250 in western Albemarle County.

The spokesman said that it was not known
what amount of the pesticide might have been
washed into the stream. He explained that an
orchard treatment operation involves spraying
fruit that has fallen on the ground to prevent
rats and other animals from eating it.

Dead Fish

The board said also that dead fish began
appearing in the Mechum River late Tuesday. A
spokesman said today that the fish kill will
probably run into the "hundreds" and would
run the entire length of the Mechum. As of
yesterday there were no dead fish spotted in
the Rivanna Reservoir.

City water director Cecil Haney said that the
switch to the auxiliary water sources was made
Monday afternoon following word from
Richmond that the water may be
contaminated.

Continuing Tests

He said that no water from the Rivanna will
be put into the city water system until
clearance is received from both the SWCB and
the health department.

Water board officials are continuing tests on
the dead fish and the water in an effort to
positively identify the contaminant.

City officials emphasized yesterday that the
water from the city's alternative sources is free
of the pesticide and is safe to drink.