The City of Harrisonburg has declared a local emergency as its water treatment plant continues to operate at reduced capacity.
Public utility crews have worked around the clock since Wednesday afternoon when heavy downpours led to increased debris in filters.
On Thursday, the plant fluctuated between 25 to 1000 percent functionality. However, an increase in water with high turbidity coming into the plant from the Dry River and North River impacted the filtration system again and brought levels back down.
The city is asking residents and businesses to conserve water until its plant returns to full capacity. The city may not be able to maintain a steady amount of treated water for community use if conservation efforts are not maintained.
If you are able to increase your conservation efforts, the city asks you to do so.
Declaring a local emergency, in part, allows the city to allocate resources more quickly if needed. The emergency declaration does not require any additional action by community members, according to a statement from the city.
This city maintains the declaration is a precautionary measure that will allow it to act more quickly and access more resources if needed to address the issue moving forward.
The mandatory water conservation notice was issued on Wednesday. The water supply is safe to use at this time, according to a city spokesperson.
If Harrisonburg’s available treated water supply gets too low, a mandatory boil water order will be issued as water will become potentially unsafe to drink.
More severe weather is possible overnight in the Harrisonburg area, according to AccuWeather.
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Crystal Graham
