MLGW issues boil water advisory for parts of Shelby County
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Thousands of MLGW customers are now being asked to boil their water for at least a minute before using it because of dangerously low water pressure.
The boil advisory affects parts of Northwest and Southeast Shelby County and came just hours after MLGW asked customers to conserve water.
“We are actually asking for practical conservation. Avoid running the dishwasher and washing machine. If you do have to, make sure it is a full load before you run that,” Doug McGowen, president of MLGW said. “Take showers instead of baths and if you can make them short showers instead of long luxurious ones, that would be helpful to all of us.”
Just before 4 p.m. Thursday, MLGW announced the water pressure was too low in some parts of the service area and issued a boil advisory, blaming broken pipes and water mains.
“I want to emphasize that there is no evidence of water quality issues in any of those areas. We have only dropped below the statutory limit of 20 pounds per square inch,” McGowne said. “By state statute and an abundance of caution, we have to advise customers in those areas to boil their water for at least one minute before they consume it.”
McGowen said since Saturday, MLGW has responded to nearly 30 broken water mains and more than 500 broken pipes in homes and businesses. There were an additional 500 outstanding calls about burst pipes Thursday afternoon.
“As soon as the pressure in those areas comes above 20 pounds per square inch, we will submit those samples to the laboratory,” he said. “We will get those samples back, which takes about 24 hours, then we submit those to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, asking them to lift the advisory.”
Though the water conservation alert is still in effect, customers are once again asked to drip their faucets to avoid frozen or broken pipes.
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