GARY, W.Va. —  Almost 500 households in rural West Virginia are heading into their fourth day without usable drinking water after severe discoloration and a well’s proximity to mine waste storage drew the water’s safety into question.

Residents of Gary, a former U.S. Steel and coal mining town of fewer than 1,000, will know Tuesday how serious their water problem is, or if they have a problem at all.

“The water turned black, like coal,” Mayor Thomas Vineyard said. “It’s never happened before. The water has always been good.”

Residents have been told the water is acceptable for bathroom use, but not to drink or cook with it, even if it’s boiled first. 

Problems began Thursday evening when residents and water plant workers started noticing the discolored water. Water plant supervisor Harry Park notified the regional health department the next day. 

Health department officials took samples, and a water treatment procedure cleared up the color, but the safety of the water is still unknown. 

“We still don’t know what turned it black or if there is anything harmful in it,” Vineyard said.

Gary’s water comes from a well in the #3 seam of the old U.S. Steel #2 mine, said former Mayor Shirley Duncan. The town began pumping out of the well when the mine “worked out,” — was emptied of valuable minerals — about 40 years ago, she said.

However, a closed surface mining operation with slurry ponds — pools of liquid coal mining waste made up of coal ash, rocks, mud and water — sits on top of the mountain behind those pumps.

“We don’t know if that is a factor,” Vineyard said. “It never has been before.”

The mining operation, formerly listed as owned by GreenFields Coal Co., based in Beckley, West Virginia, has been closed for eight to nine months, he said, although he has heard another company had purchased it.

“We just don’t know where the sediment (that turned it black) came from or if there is a problem,” he said. “We’re not taking any chances.”

If there is a major issue, Vineyard said the town will work to provide water, even if it means they tap into the nearest public water system serving cities at least 10 miles away. 

“Hopefully, we’ll learn on Tuesday that our water is safe,” he said. “I’m hoping this advisory will be lifted then.”

Until test results come in, the people of Gary are relying on rationed bottled water being distributed Monday morning.

“We didn’t want to start giving this water out to residents as it comes in,” said David Hughes with the Gary Volunteer Fire Department. “We wanted to do it all at once, so that’s why we’re waiting until we have an adequate supply.”

They need to determine how much they can give to each household, he added.

SteelCON Supply in Beckley and Raleigh Mine and Industrial Supply in nearby Mt. Hope sent two trucks loaded with fresh water.

Sunday afternoon saw volunteer firefighters, city employees and residents unloading hundreds of bottles and gallon jugs of water on pallets.

“We volunteered to help out,”  Hughes said. “In a situation like this, we are always ready to help.”

Vineyard, who now lives in neighboring Thorpe, said said enough water should come in to last residents Monday and Tuesday and he is just hoping and praying for good news.

For now, “we are doing the best we can with what we’ve got, trying to make the best out of a bad situation,” he said. “We are all in the same boat.”

Details for this story were provided by the Bluefield, West Virginia Daily Telegraph.