Government
Bessemer Water customers impacted again today by a system disruption should begin seeing their water service resume gradually tonight. Repairs to the 36-inch main feeder line located at 10th Avenue North and 18th Street in downtown Bessemer were completed around 3:30 p.m. and crews have begun releasing water from the Bessemer Water Filtration Plant in west Jefferson County near the Warrior River back through the line. City Engineer Ron Gilbert said customers should start seeing water service resume throughout the evening and into the overnight. Customers living in lower elevation areas and closer to the line will see their water return first, while those living in higher elevations and further from the line will see service return more gradually. All customers should have their service restored by Tuesday morning, he said. Customers who experience low pressure or discoloration in their water should allow their faucets to run until a steady, clearer flow emerges. Water was shut off again this morning to the feeder line after crews discovered a leak had sprouted over the weekend on a section of pipe that was repaired Friday evening. A new section of pipe was installed today to repair the line. Water customers in neighborhoods of Bessemer, Brighton, Lipscomb and Midfield were without water again today while the repairs were made. The system was previously disrupted on Friday morning when a leak was discovered in the line. Officials estimate an average of 13 million of gallons of water a day flow through the main feeder line. The water then feeds a main tank, called the Lipscomb Tank, before reaching service lines and additional water tanks throughout the system. Some Bessemer Water customers have not been impacted by either the Friday or Monday outages. However, Bessemer Mayor Kenneth Gulley requested that all Bessemer Water customers refrain from excessive water usage through the remainder of this week into the weekend in order to help the system regain full strength. Additional repairs are scheduled to be made to the line once equipment arrives from Texas. Currently, there is no anticipation of further disruptions as a result of those repairs, but officials say they will continue to monitor the system.
0