Water pump malfunction calls for conservation

LEAD HILL — A call for extreme water conservation has been placed in effect for customers who receive their water supply through the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority (OMRPWA). The conservation order began Thursday evening, Oct. 24, and remained in place at press time Friday afternoon.
According to Andy Anderson — chairman at OMRPWA, the need for conservation arose due to a malfunction at the booster pump station located south of Lead Hill on Zinc Road. Anderson explained that the pump moves water up to the main tank on the hill. Anderson said that around 7 p.m. on Thursday night, an individual driving past the station on Zinc Road observed water spraying from the station and reported it.
Anderson shared, “There are three pumps in that booster station, and a joint failed in the piping that goes out of the booster station.” The water pouring into and under the structure raised it a full foot off of the ground at one corner. Anderson measured the building’s lift at 12 inches. He explained that part of the repair to the station will include getting the building readjusted into place.
OMRPWA had some replacement parts arriving from Texarkana for the station on Thursday afternoon, but Anderson explained that they would not know the full extent of the damage or the time needed to restore operation of the station until after more investigation could be conducted Friday evening.
“It could be electrical damage too, we really don’t know yet,” said Anderson. “There are lots of electrical parts in the station. We will have two of the service representatives who service the electrical components looking at them.”

Anderson said that in addition to the electrical servicers, OMRPWA had two different contractors on site assisting, as well as the water association staff.
Water conservation has been requested to prevent users from running out of water supply before the pump can be restored. Anderson reported that the Leslie community had exhausted its supply by Friday afternoon.
He explained that sometimes people will panic and use more water than usual, attempting to stockpile it, rather than to conserve. This is an inadvisable practice that could lead to a shortage — it is the opposite of what should be done.
Communities served through the OMRPWA are listed below. Individual community members can follow their local departments’ web pages and social media pages for updates, as well as OMRPWA for updates on the situation. Several communities began posting water conservation advisories within an hour of the discovery of the issue.