Calhoun County Public Water issues are currently setting off alarms to the consumers, but unfortunately there is no evidence of alarms in the Water Treatment Plant.
According to complaints heard in the community of Pleasant Hill, high chlorine taste and scent was experienced and reported on Monday, February 2nd, 2026. But not until Wednesday was a public notification issued by the Town of Grantsville, warning customers not to consume the water, and that boiling water would still not make it safe to drink.
The Calhoun County Commission began working to determine the level and cause of the issue as well as requesting West Virginia Rural Water to come into the area and test for Chlorine levels. In accordance with regulations of the US Environmental Protection Agency, any reading of 4 parts per million is unsafe and can cause adverse health effects. Readings in multiple locations of Calhoun were reported as high as 6.8 parts per million.
Representatives from West Virginia Bureau of Health also traveled to Grantsville and tested the water which produced a reading of 6.8 ppm at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday, but by 1:00 a.m. on Thursday the reading was an acceptable number of 2.14 ppm.
Questions yet to be answered:
- Was the online automated equipment operating to provide readings every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day? That system (if calibrated correctly) is an online meter with monitored water running through it.
- Did the system designed alarms sound warning of high Chlorine residuals?
- Was the system reading low Chlorine and was more chlorine being added to compensate the low numbers?
- Have the daily logs been investigated to determine if proper procedures for monitoring water were being followed.
In researching the three water entities violations for 2025, all three agencies have reported violations. The County Government has got to add this into consideration when getting the consolidation done and create an action of accountability. Customers should attend Commission, PSD Board and Consolidation meetings and hold all agencies involved accountable for the safety of our community.
The Warning for “No Consumption of Water” has not been lifted.
