Howard County deals with continued power outages, water line breaks amidst freezing temperatures
As Howard County continued to deal with power outages, water shortages and frozen pipes area businesses and schools continued to announce closures for the days ahead. Oncor and the City of Big Spring continued throughout Tuesday with public notices, heating tips and announcements as the situation continued to progress.
Tuesday afternoon, the City of Big Spring announced due to a water main break the residents of Howard County would be experiencing little to no water pressure until the main line could be repaired. Mayor Shannon Thomason took to his Mayor of Big Spring Facebook Page to push out information regarding the water situation.
“Late last night/early this morning, a heater failed at the water treatment plant that caused chemical supply lines to freeze up. As a result, the plant had to be taken down and the frozen lines replaced. So the city is operating off stored water at the moment.
We expect the plant to be back up and operating shortly, but it will take a bit of time to refill the storage tanks and delivery lines. We could be looking at low water pressures/outages for the next two or three days,” Mayor Thomason wrote on his Facebook Page. “In the meantime, if you do have water, please conserve as much as you can. If you don’t, we are working as quickly as we possibly can to get service back to you. Right now we do NOT expect “the whole city to be out of water”. However, due to the sheer amount of water it will take to refill the tanks, some areas could take longer to restore than others.”
Regarding the electrical and water outages, the City of Big Spring released the following statement:
“Water and Electrical Outages: The prolonged freezing temperatures we are experiencing are affecting operations of the city’s Water Treatment Plant. Immediate reduction of consumption is needed. The City of Big Spring is asking customers who still have water service to reduce consumption at this time. Please only use water for essential purposes only.
We are receiving numerous reports from citizens reporting no water service. Frozen pipes are extremely common during conditions that have impacted our area since the weekend. The City of Big Spring is aware of water issues around the City; the prolonged freezing temperature is the primary factor for the issues citizens are facing.
If you have water, please leave your