The city water works in Ottumwa, Iowa, switched off when Thursday night's downpour of more than 5 in. of rain caused sewage backup to hit the main water pumps. The southeastern Iowa town's 25,000 residents have been learning to live without water since.
"Our water system here in Ottumwa is shut down," said city spokesman Tim Rogers. "As a result, the restaurants, bars and lounges are required by state law to close if they don't have running water. So we have asked all those folks to close down until that service can be restored." Rogers added that the city's response to the water problem was immediate and that residents and businesses are cooperating.
The Red Cross plans to open a shelter in the area soon, and plans for a mass distribution of bottled water are underway as well. Approximately 20 portable estrooms have been placed around town for public use.
Rogers said the water works shut down at about 11:00 p.m. Thursday and that, if all goes well, the pumps will be up and running in 24 to 36 hours.
"The pumps that basically supply all of the water out to the city were all submerged in wastewater that came up," he said. "Those pumps have all been removed. They've been sent to professional industrial cleaners, and they're reworking them and getting them ready to operate. That's about a 12-hour process in itself, just the cleaning, and then, of course, they'll have to be shipped back and put in place before we can turn them back on."
Rogers also emphasized the the situation is no one's fault, that Ottumwa's combined sewer system simply cannot handle the overwhelming amoung of rainwater that fell Thursday. He also assured residents that the local fire department is prepared in the case of a fire.
Source: Radio Iowa
