News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Cookeville Water and Sewer asking residents to eliminate any unnecessary water consumption as the city experiences extreme water usage.
Department Director Barry Turner said recent cold temperatures have caused some pipes to freeze. As temperatures warmed Monday, the pipes busted. He said holding off on laundry and refraining from washing the salt off of cars for now is a big help.
“Well of course, if they have a leak in their house, they probably know it, but if it’s in the areas that they don’t occupy all the time, they need to be looking and seeing if they have leaks there where they could, you know, especially like a barn or something like that where they could turn the water off at those areas until they can get the leak repaired,” Turner said.
Turner said identifying leaks and reporting them to the water department is the most helpful thing the community can do right now. He said an excessive amount of water running through a ditch could be from thawing ice and snow, but could also be a sign that the system is leaking in the area.
“It’s just going to take time for people to identify leaks that they have, and then we have leaks as well that we need to find, so just until we get the leaks fixed,” Turner said. “Right now, we’re doing all we can do, and hopefully, it doesn’t get any worse. We’re holding our own right now.”
Customers in Algood, Baxter, and Cookeville can all minimize water usage to help, as well as customers in the Bangham Utility District, Cookeville Boat Dock Road Utility District, Double Springs Utility District, and Gainesboro Grade Utility District.
“A lot of people go and wash their car after ice and salt on the roads,” Turner said. “If they can refrain from doing that and give us a little time to build the water back up.”
Turner said many other cities across Tennessee are experiencing a similar issue after winter storms moved through the state. People who identify leaks can contact the Water Department at 526-2125.
