Power Failure Shuts Down One Of Jonesboro’s Water Pumping Stations
(Jonesboro, AR) A power failure shut down one of Jonesboro Arkansas’ four water plants several hours Friday.
Since it’s so hot and dry… people there are being asked to only use water “if it’s absolutely necessary.. until the problem is fixed.
The hum of an electric motor is music to the ears of Jonesboro’s water customers.
It means things are getting back to normal at the Madallion Street Pumping Station where water stopped flowing just after midnight.
CWL Operations Director Jake Rice explains,
“We lost all of the electricity, so none of the pumps would run at this plant. So we were not able to pump any water out of this plant.”
Rice says the problem was traced to two faulty underground electric cables.
While crews worked to get power back, the City Water and Light Company started a local media campaign urging its 33-thousand water customers to hold off on non-essential water use,
“And ask them to suspend their lawn irrigation and watering of their shrubbery while we were making the repairs. And to give us time for the system to rebound.”
CWL’s three other water plants helped take up the slack to keep water pressure high enough for emergencies, like fire fighting.
The problem was fixed by mid morning Friday.
Friday’s pump failure was not described as “critical” and did not affect water quality.
CWL customer Clarence Higgins says he heard about the power failure and waited till the”all clear” to start watering his thirsty lawn.
Higgins says the utility company is already asking folks to water their lawns and gardens on alternating days.
He says until the heat breaks everyone needs to be patient and work together,
“I feel like you need to honor their request and do everything you can to do your part to conserve water and energy. So yea, I think it’s important”
The Medallion Street Pumping Station is operating at 70 percent capacity.
The plan is to replace the faulty underground electric cables when water storage levels are back to normal.
