Huntsville residents are still without water as town leaders search for leak
Dec 14, 2024, 8:50 PM | Updated: 9:40 pm
HUNTSVILLE — People in Huntsville were still without drinking water Saturday night as town officials continued to search for a severe leak.
Huntsville residents were seen stocking up on water by using water from fire hydrants or loading water jugs from a church in Eden. Residents like Marc Raleigh and Marl McKay told KSL TV that they do not have water in their homes.
“Really worried,” McKay said.
A person carrying water from a nearby church to their car. (KSL TV)
According to Huntsville mayor Richard Sorensen, a massive leak was first detected on Monday and has depleted nearly all the town’s drinkable water.
On Friday night, Huntsville leaders shut off drinking water throughout the town as they searched for the leak somewhere in a 4,000-foot pipe underground between the Huntsville purification plant and the town water storage tank.
“We’re losing somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 to 200 gallons a minute,” Sorensen said.
The mayor said everything they’ve tried so far hasn’t worked.
“We’ve employed everything from drones using thermal imaging. Tomorrow, we’re injecting dye into the line to see if any water shows up in some of the streams,” Sorensen said.
The water shutoff forced a Huntsville hotel and a restaurant to close until the water leak was found and fixed. Several people visiting the town looking to eat had to turn back after hearing the news.
A sign from a Huntsville restaurant letting customers know that it’s closed due to the water outage. (KSL TV)
Residents who are forced to fill up water from places generous enough to share are hoping the town will fix the problem soon.
“Hopefully, this will be finished in a few days or sooner,” Raleigh said.
“I think they need to plan more so we don’t have to go through this again,” McKay added.
Huntsville officials said they hope to have some non-potable water tanks available on Sunday so residents can flush their toilets. Several churches also have open doors for residents to use the bathroom or fill up water tanks from about 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Bottle water will also be available in front of the Huntsville Town Hall from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Sorensen said the best way to stay up to date is to sign up for the emails on the town website.
