Planned Water Shutdown Overnight at Palmetto Health

COLUMBIA, SC ( WOLO ) – – A planned Water Shutdown is in place for Palmetto Health Main Hospital and Children’s Hospital. The time : 6pm -6am Friday. From Palmetto Health : Palmetto Health’s Emergency Management team, which is comprised of team members from every discipline and campus, has worked diligently to address many of the issues caused by the flood. The water supply has been the major issue and has required the most resources. The Emergency Management team has spent numerous hours working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in coordination with S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to validate the processes that we currently are using. We are thankful for all of the resources that have been provided to us by local, state and federal authorities. As a City of Columbia water customer, we appreciate what is being done by our City officials to make water available to our area. Since we may be under a boil water advisory for an extended period of time, our team has developed a plan to bypass the city water for patient needs until the city water is appropriate for patient use. We still will use city supplied water for other needs such as air conditioning and certain equipment. There will be an extended process where water will be unavailable at 5 Richland Medical Park and 7 Richland Medical Park based on where we are in this process. There will be no water use from 6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 8 to 6 a.m., Friday, Oct. 9. Here are the steps to the process. Preparation and Chlorination Stage: There will be a high concentration of chlorine put into the system to cleanse it. As part of this stage, Engineering and volunteers will work to ensure the chlorine has reached the entire system. They will go floor to floor testing until we are assured that it is complete. This stage will take approximately 8 hours. Dwell Stage: There has to be no water movement at all. No sinks, toilets or showers can be used. Any water use during this stage delays the process and could increase the amount of time that is required. During this stage, laboratory services will be provided at 14 Medical Park and patient dialysis at the Heart Hospital. This stage will take approximately 8 hours. Refill Stage: The system will be refilled with clean water. Toilets only can be used at this time. This stage will take approximately 8 hours. Test stage: The water will be tested. The sample will be sent to the lab. The turnaround time is 24 hours. At the end of this time, we hope to be cleared to have a self-sustaining water source suitable for patient care until the City of Columbia is able to provide it. Other important information: “¢ We are providing access to bathrooms in other buildings on the Richland campus for team members and guests. “¢ Bathroom use for patients will be taken care of by caregivers. “¢ We have asked guests to consider leaving the campus during this time for their own comfort.