Hopkinsville’s water shortage warning and the restriction on washing vehicles was lifted Thursday morning.
“Customers may resume normal use and consumption,” a Hopkinsville Water Environment Authority press release states.
The city utility had issued the warning Tuesday in response to unusually high water demand for two consecutive days after a bitter cold stretch over the Christmas weekend.
The release sent by HWEA General Manager Derrick Watson attributed the high demand to more than 165 leaks in customer pipes. Watson defended the decision to restrict water used at commercial car wash businesses.
The warning and the restriction on Class 1 water uses (which includes water for washing vehicles) were issued “to encourage customers to conserve water and find/stop their leaks in order to reduce the unusually high demand. We restricted the washing of vehicles because, under City Ordinance, Class 1 usage is the first usage to be curtailed. We gladly support our car wash businesses and wish them well,” the release states.
HWEA delivered 9.55 million gallons of water per day (MGD) on Christmas Day and 10.15 MGD on Monday. Normal wintertime production is 6.5 to 7 MGD, according to the release.
Watson told Hoptown Chronicle that production was 9.7 MGD on Tuesday and has been trending lower since then. The decline in demand made it possible to lift the warning and restriction on Thursday.
The large number of leaks created an unprecedented challenge for the water utility because many residents were away from home and businesses were closed for the holiday. That meant many of the leaks were not immediately noticed.
HWEA expected some customers would have problems because of the arctic cold front but the magnitude of the situation surprised officials at the utility, said Watson.
All of the leaks, with one exception, were in the plumbing of residential and commercial customers. HWEA had one leak in a line at Founder’s Square downtown but it did not contribute significantly to the high demand on the system, said Watson.
This story has been updated with additional information that Derrick Watson provided Hoptown Chronicle in a phone interview.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
