Star Staff Reports
Memphis Light, Gas and Water was distributing water Tuesday at two locations because of water pressure issues after the cold front that passed through last Thursday night.
As part of the recovery from the inclement weather, MLGW handed out water to those in need at Pleasant Chapel Missionary Baptist Church and Hickory Ridge Mall.
MLGW volunteers distributed 1,600 cases of bottled water Monday afternoon. All customers receiving water from MLGW are under a precautionary boil water advisory until further notice.
Memphis Light, Gas and Water initialized the Emergency Water Management Phase of the Drought Management Plan today. All customers need to limit all non-essential water uses as MLGW works to find, fix or isolate main breaks and broken water services.
All non-essential water uses such as washing cars is prohibited until further notice. All carwash facilities are being notified to cease operations effective immediately. The temperatures around 1 degree and icy roads lead to power outages and pipe bursting in varies areas in Shelby County.
Residential Customers should limit water usage by:
• Not washing vehicles
• Washing of clothes and dishes only when necessary and by hand using a dishpan if possible
• Not letting water run while shaving
• Taking short showers instead of tub baths (Turning off the water flow while soaping or shampooing. If you must use a tub, close the drain before turning on the water and fill the tub only half full.)
• Not using water to defrost frozen foods (Thaw in the refrigerator overnight instead)
• Sweeping driveways, sidewalks, and steps rather than hosing off
Commercial and Industrial Customers should limit water usage by:
• Not flushing out any systems unless necessary
• Cutting back to 75% usage unless water is needed for production of goods and services
• Any nurseries, garden centers, etc. should only use the amount of water necessary to keep plants alive
Message from MLGW President Doug McGowen
Monday, December 26, 2022
Overnight and all day today our team and contracted partners have continued to find and fix broken water mains, and to secure water for residential and commercial customers who have broken pipes that are causing leaks. So far, our team has repaired 20 water main breaks and are now working on another 7. Customer service technicians have secured water for 461 residential and commercial customers and are working on securing another 180 tonight. To date, our team has secured water at 24 commercial facilities because of broken Fire Protection (FP) or sprinkler pipes. Notably, these FP systems are designed to deliver very high volumes of water, and when they break, they cause dramatic drops in our system pressure. Taken together: water main breaks, residential and commercial leaks and Fire Protection system ruptures cause reduced pressures and no-water conditions for customers down-stream. Correcting these conditions remains the substantial work ahead of us.
For our commercial customers, fluctuating and low pressures will cause commercial restroom fixtures problems with proper operation. Generally, 40 psi is required for proper function of commercial flush valves. In several areas, we are not reliably delivering that pressure. A request for our business leaders: to the extent possible for office workers, on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, please allow the maximum opportunity for remote work so that we can avoid having significant plumbing function issues in your offices. Thanks for helping us in that way. For our residential customers, you can help by not dripping water in your homes when temperatures are above freezing.
Today, MLGW and our partners and volunteers gave out 1,600 cases of water to families who are experiencing “no-water” conditions.
