Don’t drink the water

MOUNT AYR — The city of Mount Ayr was without water for nearly four hours Tuesday.

A wire melted inside of the water plant north of Mount Ayr on Highway 169, which caused the water pump to stop working. The water tower drained and the entire system lost pressure. There was no water in the city as of 10:30 a.m.

Porta Potties were provided by Greg Cannon owner of Cannon’s Porta Potties and placed on the south side of the square near Skelly Station, Mount Ayr Inn, behind United States Department of Agriculture building, Judge Lewis Park, apartment complexes and both nursing homes.

The Department of Natural Resources put out a two-day boiling regulation for the city of Mount Ayr. Residents are asked to use bottled water or boil water used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth and food preparation because of the potential for bacterial contamination.

Both CGI Foods and Hy-Vee in Mount Ayr called in semi loads of bottled water for the community to purchase.

“When the water went out, we notified our water operator Kevin Stocker,” said Mount Ayr Utilities Clerk Amanda Cannon. “After he was notified, he went to check the water plant.”

The wire that melted was originally installed by Alliant Energy, and Allaint service repaired it.

The water service was restored about 2:15 p.m.

“Even though the water came back on, we still have to conserve it,” said Ringgold County Emergency Management Coordinator Teresa Jackson.

Stocker said the water plant was more than likely out of power longer than the city was out of water.

“One leg of the power went out at the plant,” he said. “We got it reinstituted, and it is working now. The pump wasn’t damaged and samples of the water will be taken so we can monitor it. We are asking residents to remember to still conserve their water and to boil their water until Friday morning.”

Conserve

In order to conserve the water and help fill the towers, the community was asked to continue to use the Porta Potties around town Tuesday night. The residents were also advised to use their water sparingly.

Using the emergency alert system in Ringgold County through Global Connect, Jackson notified 1,011 residents in Mount Ayr about the water loss.

“We also used social media sites to help notify people,” she said. “As soon as we would get an update, I posted it to Facebook.”

Mount Ayr Community High School, elementary school and the family resource center students were dsimissed at 1:10 p.m. and students were asked to bring their own bottled water to school today.