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Part Of Water Ban Lifted

CHARLESTON (AP) – Safe tap water gushed from faucets and shower heads in West Virginia on Monday, a welcome sight and sound for a small fraction of the 300,000 people who have not been able to use running water since a chemical spill five days ago.

It could still be days before everyone in the Charleston metropolitan area is cleared to use the water, though officials said the water in certain designated areas was safe to drink and wash with as long as people flushed out their systems. They cautioned that the water may still have a slight licorice-type odor to it, raising the anxieties of some who believed it was still contaminated.

“I’m not going to drink it. I’ll shower in it and do dishes in it. But I won’t drink it. I don’t think it’s (the chemical) all out,” said Angela Stone, who started the 30-minute or so process of flushing her system out soon after the ban was lifted.

Officials gave the green light Monday to 6,000 to 10,000 customers of West Virginia American Water.

The water crisis shuttered schools, restaurants and day-care centers and truckloads of water had to be brought in from out of state. People were told to use the water only to flush their toilets.

“Finally,” said Stone’s husband, James Parker. “I can finally take a shower, do dishes and cook some regular meals.”

Officials were lifting the ban in a strict, methodical manner to help ensure the water system was not overwhelmed by excessive demand, which could cause more water quality and service problems. An online map detailing what areas were cleared showed a very small portion in blue and a vast area across nine counties still in the ‘do not use’ red.

Customers were credited with 1,000 gallons of water, which was likely more than enough to flush out a system. The average residential customer uses about 3,300 gallons per month.

Some people said they weren’t worried about the odor.

“It’s not going to bother me as long as we know it’s clean,” said Peter Triplett, a state library commission worker whose home was near the first area allowed to use water. “It’s been rough going.”

The first area cleared was downtown Charleston, the state capital and its largest city.

Hospitals were flushing out systems there and schools Superintendent James Phares said he hoped the largest two school systems could reopen today.

The water crisis started Thursday when a chemical used in coal processing leaked from a Freedom Industries plant into the nearby Elk River.

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