UPDATE, 3 P.M.: At 2:50 p.m., Mountain View Mayor Roger Gardner gave a brief update on the status of the water system.
Earlier:
The entire Mountain View water system is still without water, and when the system is back running, it will be under a boil order until further notice.
Mayor Roger Gardner told White River Now’s Chad Whiteaker Wednesday morning crews are making some progress, but pump issues remain.
“Right now, we’re making a little bit of progress,” Gardner said. “We’ve got about six-and-a-half to seven feet in our clear well. We have one pump running that’s feeding to it. We’re trying to get access to another pump. That’s what we’re looking at now — if we can get another pump in line. We’ve had two or three pumps that we haven’t been able to get going again, and we’ve borrowed some auxiliary pumps that have gone down, so it’s been one thing after another. But we’re steadily hammering as hard as we can to keep things going.”
Gardner said crews believe the issue stems from the extreme weather, including the heavy rains that arrived before the winter storm. The mayor told Little Rock television station KATV that the combination of heavy rain, snow, and freezing temperatures likely damaged the system’s intake structure, where the pipes go out into the river.
This morning, Gardner told White River Now the entire plant was dry, but once the system is able to get enough water into the intake structure, it will be sent into the clear well, through the plant, and into town.
“Like I said, we are making some progress right now,” he said. “We’re starting to get into our clear well, so that’s a good sign.”
Mountain View Water Superintendent Keith Johnson told the Stone County Leader on Tuesday it would take a minimum of 24 hours to recover from storage tanks being emptied, “…or perhaps faster, if residents will continue to be conservative with water use.”
Stone County Judge Stacey Avey declared an emergency on Tuesday afternoon. According to a post from the Stone County Leader, Avey said a delivery of bottled water is expected on Wednesday, and personnel will be figuring out a way to distribute the supply.
Have a news tip or event to promote? Email White River Now at news@whiterivernow.com. Be sure to like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. And don’t forget to download the White River Now mobile app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
Get up-to-date local and regional news/weather every weekday morning and afternoon from the First Community Bank Newsroom on Arkansas 103.3 KWOZ. White River Now updates are also aired weekday mornings on 93 KZLE, Outlaw 106.5, and Your FM 99.5.
