Flooded Cistern Cleaning in Parkersburg, WV

If your property flooded and your cistern went under, do not use the water. A flooded cistern is contaminated. It needs a full pump-out and sanitization before it is safe again.

Call 681-588-5014 - same-day response available for flood situations.

What gets into a flooded cistern

When floodwater enters a cistern, it brings everything the water picked up on the way there.

Surface runoff carries bacteria, animal waste, motor oil, fertilizer, and whatever else was sitting on the ground before the water rose. In the Ohio River floodplain, that runoff travels across a lot of ground before it reaches you.

Sewage. When storm systems and sewer systems are overwhelmed at the same time - which happens in Parkersburg - overflow goes somewhere. That somewhere is often the same low ground your cistern sits in.

Agricultural runoff from upstream properties and the broader Mid-Ohio Valley watershed adds herbicides, pesticides, and nitrates to the mix.

Any one of those alone is a reason not to drink the water. Together, they make the cistern contents a hazard.

Why you cannot just top it off

The contamination is not only in the water. Floodwater coats every interior surface of the cistern - the walls, the floor, the fittings, the inlet area. When the water level drops, that coating stays behind. It dries into a biofilm layer that will contaminate the next fill, and the one after that.

Topping off the tank dilutes the contaminants but does not remove them. You will have more water and the same contamination problem.

The only fix is a complete pump-out, a mechanical scrub of every interior surface, and sanitization with a disinfectant rated for potable water systems at the correct concentration and dwell time. See our full cleaning process for exactly what that involves.

Health guidance for the Mid-Ohio Valley

The West Virginia Bureau for Public Health and the Washington County, Ohio Health Department both recommend treating any private water source that has been in contact with floodwater as contaminated until it has been properly cleaned and tested. Do not assume the cistern is safe because the water looks clear. Bacterial contamination is invisible.

If you have any doubt about whether your cistern flooded, inspect the area around the lid and access points. Water entry lines, debris inside the lid, or anything that looks like it settled from the outside are signs of intrusion.

What we do

We pump the cistern completely empty - no partial pump-outs after flooding. We go in and scrub the interior walls, floor, and fittings by hand. We apply an NSF/ANSI 60-certified chlorine disinfectant at the correct concentration and dwell time for post-flood sanitization. We hold the dwell time. Then we flush and inspect before we leave.

We document what we find during inspection so you have a record of the service. If there is structural damage from the flooding, we will tell you before we close up.

Most post-flood cleanings can be completed in a single visit. Cisterns with heavy debris intrusion take longer, but we stay until the job is done.

Serving Parkersburg and the Mid-Ohio Valley

We work throughout Wood County and the surrounding area, including communities in Washington County, OH. If your property sits in or near the Ohio River floodplain, we know your terrain and the cistern types common to it. See the full list of towns and counties we cover.

Call 681-588-5014 to schedule a post-flood cleaning or ask what to do right now.