The Town of Coushatta and residents on the town water system continue to deal with outages and boil advisories. Despite increased efforts by the town to quickly switch from the old pipes to the new ones installed in the past year, water woes still vex everyone.

Information on the water outage on Tuesday confirmed that both pumps had ceased to operate overnight. Pumps working at 5:50 pm on Monday were shut down in the night by a rock that blew one pump and a second one had a computer fail-safe that shut down due to overworking the pump. There was no oversight of the pumps during the night. A technician from the company was on hand most of the day Wednesday to program the pump and ensure working order. Water Operator, Mr. Mohammad, told officials that someone would monitor the pumps throughout the night Wednesday.

The town engineer said that at ten on Wednesday, the pumps were running at 60 lbs of pressure, but a large leak had begun to drain the system during the night. The loss of water was putting a strain on the pumps. He recommended lowering the pressure to 50.

The town has ordered more parts for the pumps, and three new pumps are on order to have as backups in the future. Although the pumps are requested, a 15-day wait is expected. Town officials said they are willing to pay for expedited delivery if possible.

Two crews worked Wednesday and Thursday to shut off the old pipes in Springville and switch the community to the new piping system. These efforts are part of the town’s and engineers’ expedited plan to move the entire system to the new one. Unfortunately, leaks in old pipes are hampering all efforts. As the crews move to other town sites to install lines and cut off old ones, the heat and leaks work against them. The engineer’s goal is to have all areas running through new pipes by the end of today.

Businesses are suffering due to the water problems. The lack of water and the boil advisory caused restaurants to alter offerings, closed beauty shops, and the meat pie plant to cease operation. The dialysis center secured a water tanker to ensure they could perform lifesaving procedures.

Frustrated citizens wake to the uncertainty of having water each morning. Students missed school twice this week, and many came to school Wednesday and Thursday despite a lack of water at home. Everyone hopes that this water worry will be over soon.

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