A city in North Texas is about to run out of water as the area is plagued by a severe drought.
Two of the three wells in Gunter, Texas, a community of 2,500 people north of Dallas, have been dry for a month.
The city issued a warning to its citizens on Wednesday that they might run out of water by the following morning as lawn watering restrictions become more stringent.
The warning stated that “the City’s water storage tanks are unable to refill due to high water use.
“Residents were instructed to stop all outdoor irrigation and reduce indoor water use, which included washing dishes or clothes, taking showers, and other “non-essential” uses.
Gunter had dodged disaster by Friday morning, but water restrictions were still in place while contractors fixed the town’s wells.
The water crisis in Gunter occurs while the West struggles with a drought that experts have dubbed the worst in 1,200 years.
Water restrictions have been implemented by towns from Texas to California, and ranchers are selling cattle they can no longer feed because their fields have dried up.
City manager Rick Chaffin told CBS MoneyWatch, “We’re simply taking it hour by hour and day by day.
Contractors are working on the wells “as we speak.”
When asked if residents should continue to practise water conservation until the middle of next week, when it is anticipated that a second well will be repaired, Chaffin said he was “cautiously optimistic” the city would be able to survive.
Under the strain of use, two out of three wells collapsed.
Three wells that supply water to Gunter have sporadically failed due to heavier-than-normal usage, according to Chaffin.
Because of the lack of rain, he claimed, “many are increasingly utilising well water to water their lawns.”
He said, “The wells were supposed to operate 50% to 60% of the time, yet they were running continually.
Similar to how your air conditioner would ultimately break if you run it constantly.
Only the downtown well, the smallest of the three, is now in use.
According to the city, work on a second well should be finished by the middle of next week.
When the largest well will be fixed is unknown.
However, many locals are incensed after learning that they cannot water their lawns while nearby establishments like restaurants and car washes are permitted to continue operating.
Local resident Thomas Stratton Berry posted on the town’s Facebook page, “Apparently the car wash does NOT fit under ‘Every drop Counts,’”
“We need to understand why there hasn’t been a preventative measure put in place and why the wells have experienced technical faults over the years.”
In case of a fire emergency, which is more likely due to the excessive heat and drought, Gunter has requested assistance from nearby towns and stated it had mutual aid agreements with those fire departments.
As a result, 100 cases of bottled water have been distributed over the last two days by neighbourhood businesses, according to Brandy Cochran, president of the Gunter Chamber of Commerce.
In the 13 years Cochran has lived in the town, “we’ve never been to the point where we’ve had this acute an issue with the water wells,” she said.
903 Brewers in Sherman, close by, put a hold on brewing for a few days to help with relief efforts.
More than 20,000 cans of water from a nearby spring were preserved by the brewery, and it has plans to transport them to Gunter City Hall for emergency distribution.
Owner Jeremy Roberts stated, “It’s all hands on deck.
We stopped canning beer and halted brewing.”
“Over the past 30 days, it has been hotter than 100 degrees.
Additionally, it hasn’t rained.
People are therefore under a lot of stress, “Added the 43-year-old.
Developmental problems
According to Chaffin, the city manager, “building a city on three wells is a lousy idea.
“The difficulty has increased as a result of Gunter’s recent rapid growth, which was fueled by immigrants from other states.
Writing an apologetic letter on Thursday, Chaffin claimed he understood the residents’ dissatisfaction.
“I completely, entirely understand it. People anticipate fundamental services, he said.
We’re a developing, expanding metropolis, and in many ways, we lack the sophistication of the major cities.
In order to protect Gunter’s water supply in the years to come as it gets ready for rapid growth, he said city officials were working on a plan, but he declined to go into specifics because of continuing talks.
With 44,000 new dwellings already planned for development, the city of 2,500 is expected to see a growth of more than 100,000 additional residents in the upcoming years, he pointed out.