Local Water Woes Worsen

Caswell County offices, schools, and many local businesses were closed or operating remotely on Wednesday and Thursday after receiving boiled water and conservation notices, then losing water completely.

The Town of Yanceyville's water treatment plant has been offline for repairs since July, making it necessary for the Town to purchase water from the City of Danville.

At Tuesday night's Danville City Council meeting, City Manager Ken Larking reported that a sudden increase in raw water turbidity led to a disruption in treated water supply that led some parts of the city to go without water completely and for everyone on the system to be under a boil water notice.

“Due to heavy rain and run off into the creeks and streams feeding the Dan River, the water coming into our treatment plant became unusually cloudy, and despite our best efforts, it could not be safely treated to meet quality standards,” Larking said. “For several hours, we were unable to supply the distribution system with treated water meeting the Virginia Department of Health standards for drinking water.”

He explained that as a result, water levels and pressure in the City’s storage tanks dropped.

Under public health regulations, a boil water advisory must be issued whenever system pressure is lost to protect public safety.

Many Yanceyville residents took to social media to voice their frustration over still not having a reliable source of safe drinking water. It was especially poor timing, since many Yanceyville water customers just received bills that were a bit higher than normal.

The Town of Yanceyville issued a proclamation declaring a Water Supply Emergency on Wednesday, asking residents and businesses to limit usage until supply is restored.

The Town has also issued a System Level Advisory, reminding residents that as their water service is restored, they should boil all water intended for consumption (drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food prep).

A Common Problem

The City of Danville's water treatment plant is not alone in its struggle to effectively process raw water with a high turbidity (excessive particulate matter in the water).

That same issue is what caused Yanceyville's water treatment plant to fail completely after Tropical Storm Chantal in July of 2025. That system is still offline as it undergoes repairs.

When a water system collects its raw water from a high turbidity source, such as a river or Farmer Lake, the filters are exposed to much more wear and tear over time. Sometimes the filtration process is overwhelmed and the system must be flushed and restarted. If the filters and other equipment are not adequately maintained and repaired over the years, eventually those filters will fail.

Waterborne pathogens, including E. coli, bind with particulates, requiring the use of more chemicals to disinfect water with a high turbidity. This raises Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs), which are the disinfection byproducts formed when chlorine reacts with organic matter in water.

Studies have shown that long-term consumption of water with high levels of TTHMs is associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer, colorectal cancer, and reproductive issues.

The Town of Milton, which draws its water from a community well is also working on an extensive overhaul of their aging water treatment and wastewater systems. They had to conserve water during the recent winter storms when the freezing weather led to busted pipes at some properties, dropping water levels in their tank.

What to Expect

On Wednesday, the City of Danville said that crews were making progress restoring water service, raw water conditions were improving, and that more areas can expect water service restored and better pressure as the day progresses.

The boil water notice remains in effect until at least Friday. Residents and businesses are encouraged to confirm with the Town of Yanceyville and/or the City of Danville before you stop boiling water intended for consumption.

The Town of Yanceyville is distributing bottled water to its water customers at the Yanceyville Municipal Service Building on Wednesday evening and Thursday, February 19 from 1pm-3pm. They will also be at the Providence Volunteer Fire Department on Thursday, February 19 from 5pm-7pm.

ClearWater Solutions, which took over operations at the Yanceyville Plant in the Fall of 2025 reported to the Yanceyville Town Council during its February meeting that they hoped to be complete with extensive repairs and rehabilitation of the Yanceyville Water Treatment facility in March but were hesitant to give an exact date, citing the potential for issues to arise.

The quarterly joint meeting of the Yanceyville Town Councils and Milton and Caswell County Commissioners initially scheduled to be hosted in Yanceyville on Thursday, February 19 has been cancelled and will be rescheduled.

A Focus on Infrastructure

The area's latest water supply emergency comes amid county-wide discussions about the infrastructure improvements necessary for economic development. The majority of the local water infrastructure improvements currently underway in Yanceyville and Milton are being funded by a combination of state and federal grants.

Yanceyville Town Manager, Kamara Barnett has said that the town's water treatment plant will be in excellent shape once the repairs and rehabilitation is complete, but adds that ongoing maintenance and repair must be a priority moving forward so the facility does not fall into disrepair later. She adds that there are also still many aging lines throughout the town that will need to be replaced.

Both Yanceyville and Milton are continuing to pursue grant opportunities to fund the next phases of their necessary infrastructure improvements in an effort to avoid significant rate increases.

Local elected officials often speak of needing to leverage all available outside funding sources, such as state and federal grants, for infrastructure improvement in the county.

The cultivation and ongoing management of those grants require a significant amount of staffing capacity from identification, to application, to administration and project management, on through to financial management and reporting.

Without dedicated grants management staff, those duties fall to the managers, department heads, and in Milton, elected leadership.

Previous staff requests to include a grants manager position in the county budget have been rejected.