ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio — Residents of St. Clairsville are just now receiving mailed notices about a water turbidity problem that was first detected more than a month ago.
St. Clairsville Service Director Scott Harvey says a turbidity issue causing water cloudiness at the city’s water treatment plant in December was fully contained and did not affect the city’s drinking water supply.
According to Mike Reed, Superintendent of St. Clairsville Water and Wastewater, the turbidity was detected Dec. 10, 2025 at the city’s water treatment plant. However, a River News investigation found that the notice did not appear on the city’s website until Dec. 23, 2025 and residents received the mailed notice with their water bills on Jan. 14, 2026.
Harvey told River News the issue involved a filter failure at the water treatment plant that was discovered by operators in early December.
“We had a filter failure — that’s the easiest way to explain it,” Harvey said. “One of our three filters had an underdrain failure, which allowed some of the filtration media to move through the system.”
Harvey said plant operators immediately shut down the facility before any affected water could enter the distribution system.
“Fortunately, our operators saw the issue and shut the plant down, so we did not pump any of that water to our water towers,” he said. “None of that water made it into the system.”
The city switched to its backup water source from Belmont County while the issue was addressed. Harvey said the incident was reported to the EPA, which determined turbidity levels exceeded limits inside the treatment plant, not in the public water system.
The notice included with water bills mailed Jan. 5 that are just hitting residents’ mailboxes warns that turbidity can indicate the presence of bacteria, viruses, or parasites, which can cause nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and headaches. People with compromised immune systems, infants, and some elderly residents may be at higher risk.
Here is an excerpt from the letter water customers received Jan. 14, 2026:
“Turbidity has no health effects. However, turbidity can interfere with disinfection and provide a medium for bacterial growth. Turbidity can indicate the presence of disease-causing microorganisms. These microorganisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites, which can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches. People with severely compromised immune systems, infants and some elderly people may be at increased risk. these people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers.”
Excerpt of letter from the City of St. Clairsville sent with water bills received Jan. 14, 2026
Reed stated that no foul water left the treatment plant and no one has complained of health issues. He said the water is safe.
“No complaints have been received,” Reed said. “The water is fine now. This was largely a formality required by the EPA.”
“The drinking water system wasn’t impacted,” Harvey said. “The turbidity stayed at the water plant.”
Because turbidity levels exceeded EPA limits during testing, the city was required to issue a public notice, even though no contaminated water reached residents.
“This language is drafted and recommended by the EPA — it’s not our language,” Harvey said. “It’s written for worst-case scenarios, and we are required to use it.”
The initial EPA requirement was for conspicuous public postings, which Harvey said were placed at city buildings, including the municipal building, police department, recreation center, library, utility office and courthouse beginning Dec. 11. A more detailed notice was later posted on the city’s website on Dec. 23 following additional guidance from the EPA.
At the agency’s recommendation, the notice was also mailed with January water bills to increase transparency.
“They asked us if we would put a more thorough public notice out with our January billing so customers would be fully informed,” Harvey said.
Harvey acknowledged residents may be concerned by the delay but said the city followed EPA notification requirements throughout the process.
“We try to follow the EPA guidelines exactly,” he said. “We rely on them heavily for direction, and this is the direction we were given.”
Harvey said the city uses the Crisis24 emergency alert system, formerly known as CodeRED, but that system was down due to a ransomware cyberattack when the water issue occurred in December He added that the turbidity issue did not warrant a boil order per EPA guidelines.
Harvey encouraged residents with questions to contact the city directly.
“I’m more than happy to explain the situation to anyone who calls,” he said. “Our operators reacted perfectly. They contained the issue at the plant, and that’s exactly what they’re trained to do.
Harvey can be reached at the City of St. Clairsville Municipal Building, phone (740) 695-0156.
