Citizens Touts Safeguards To Protect Water From Spills

West Virginia residents are getting their water back after a chemical spill left more than 300,000 without it.

A chemical used to wash coal leaked into the state’s water supply last week.

Citizens Energy Vice President of Water Operations Lindsay Lindgren says it’s unlikely what happened there would happen in the Hoosier state.

"One of the differences between our situation and West Virginia is that we have multiple treatment plants we can utilize," he said.  "We have four separate treatment plants so most likely we would be able to either bypass, shutdown, or modify flow as needed."

Lindgren says the company does have emergency plans for spills, but re-evaluation is important after these types of situations.

"I think whenever there is an occurrence like this it's a good opportunity for us to discuss that internally, review our emergency protocol procedures, and ensure everything is up to date.  But, we are comfortable with where we are at," he said.

Officials say it will still be a few days before all effected customers will have access to water in West Virginia.