Both the city of Hazard and the Owsley County town of Booneville say some of their local water tanks are at critically low levels.
“Everybody's been trapped in for three or four days in a row, school’s been out, jobs have been canceled, and I guess everybody's home,” said Hazard City Manager Tony Eversole.
That caused Hazard to shut off water Thursday for around 400 residents around the Wendell H. Ford Airport north of the city.
Eversole said the tank those residents get water from feeds into the larger Appalachian Regional Healthcare tank, which supplies needed facilities like the local hospital, veterans center and regional jail.
“It was leaving quicker than what we were putting it in, so we had to cut it off and try to get some levels built up and make sure that the hospital tank is good,” he said.
The city says it’s distributing water at the airport’s terminal in the meantime.
In Booneville, town officials posted on social media asking residents to stop running water and check for leaks. The town’s water department said it would similarly shut down service in areas showing the most usage in order to conserve the tank’s levels.
A boiled water advisory is also being called for in areas around Marcum Ridge Road, Tucker Lane, Water Street and Little Sturgeon Road.
Local officials are asking residents to open their cabinet doors instead of running faucets to keep pipes from freezing.
