Danville's Schoolfield Mill Reservoir could help alleviate recurring drinking water issues

DANVILLE (WSLS 10) - The reservoir at the old Schoolfield Mill is being drained to determine if it is structurally sound and this could help with the city's ongoing drinking water issue.

If it is, the city could decide to fill it back up with water from the Dan River while there are no taste and odor issues being reported.

If those issues arise again, the water could be pumped to the drinking water plant to temporarily replace the water at the plant, which comes straight out of the river.

The hope is that this would give whatever may be in the river time to go downstream.

"Should there be a contamination event in the Dan River, we could stop pulling directly from the Dan and pull off the reservoir," said Barry Dunkley, Danville's division director of water and wastewater treatment.

"During rainfall events when we have real muddy water, or what we refer to as high-turbidity water, then we could go off the reservoir and let that pass by," Dunkley continued.

If the reservoir is usable, it would likely take around two years to get it ready to use.