D.C. How did motor oil end up in D.C.’s water supply?

WASHINGTON (WJLA) – The drinking water has been declared safe, but many residents in D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood remain skeptical, amidst an investigation into how motor oil ended up in the water supply.

That discovery prompted a three-day water advisory for residents and businesses last week; it’s now sparking a call for answers.

D.C. Water is currently investigating to find out how the oil product got into the water supply. People in the affected area told 7 On Your Side they want to know exactly how it happened, and some want to be made whole for what they lost. We discovered there are known leaking petroleum tanks near the area.
The water advisory spared few.
“There was a really strong odor of gas that night in our apartment,” said Justin Cerra. “It was so bad, we left and stayed in a hotel.”
But packing up and leaving for some, especially business owners, simply wasn’t an option.
At Pizza D’Oro, owner Nick Hussein bought bottled water by the gallon to keep his doors open. For three days, all his food and dishes were hand washed via Deer Park—an expense he chose not to pass on to his customers.
“We can’t shut down,” he said. “It’s not that much.”
Hussein was fortunate, because just down the block at Uprising Muffin Company, it was that much.
“It definitely hurt pretty badly,” said Donnie Simpson.
More than a third of Simpson’s business comes from coffee and tea, which he couldn’t make during the do-not-drink advisory. Business only started to normalize on Monday.
“Thirty-five percent of our business was lost, because we didn’t have access to clean water here in the store,” he said.
D.C. government documents obtained by the 7 On Your Side I-Team show there are 105 locations of leaking underground petroleum storage tanks in the District, involving upwards of 209 tanks. We found at least a half dozen sites are near the Shaw neighborhood.
So far, neither Cerra, Hussein nor Simpson has heard anything from the city about how similar leaks will be prevented moving forward. All three men lost money and don’t want to lose any more.
“That would be fantastic if we could be compensated for what we lost,” Simpson said.

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/12...y--110029.html


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