BRAZOS COUNTY, TX — Texans have felt the ripple effects of this winter storm. Beginning with power outages where many are still without. Now officials are asking residents to conserve their water usage.
As the temperatures have risen slowly above freezing, the public works department for the City of Bryan has seen private leaks across the community which has caused a major loss in the water supply.
”At that point and time, we drafted the notice to ask residents to cut back on their water usage,” said Jayson Barfnecht, the public works director for the City of Bryan.
Reports through, the advanced metering infrastructure system are showing residents in Bryan are using 800 to 1,000 gallons an hour. Meanwhile, College Station has seen a record high in usage where reports are showing summer irrigation peaking numbers with over 20 million gallons used in just one day.
The city will not cut your water supply off, but officials are asking Brazos County residents to cut faucets back to a trickle and as temperatures continue to rise, be aware of water leaks as ice begins to thaw. Officials suggest locating that water source to shut it off, if needed, or contact your local water service to assist you if you have reported a leak.
A loss in the water supply can then essentially cause problems with the water pressure. Brazos County has barely remained safely above critical PSI numbers.
”That elevated water that’s what provides pressure to our entire water system," said Jennifer Nation, the water resource coordinator for the city of College Station. "That’s what allows the fire department to open up the fire hydrants fight fires that’s what allows us to have sprinkler systems washer machines, if we lose that pressure, we lose that fire protection capability,”
The loss of pressure can also cause the area to enter a boil water notice. At the moment, both College Station and Bryan are not under boil water notice. However, officials want to express the importance of water supply and how that greatly impacts our local fire department when on the front-lines.