MEMPHIS, Tenn. — MLGW’s President says “we’re moving in the right direction” when it comes to making repairs and getting water pressure back or even water back for people in the city.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Memphis’ mayor said an estimated 15% of MLGW’s customers are without water due to a lack of water pressure.
Dozens of viewers have reached out to WREG asking “when will I get my water back?” and “when will the boil water advisory end?”
We asked MLGW President Doug McGowen for a timeline.
“I do not want to promise a deadline that I cannot meet,” he told us.
But he did compare this situation to when Memphis has experienced other similar situations and gave us a timeline for how the process has played out in the past.
“Once you have found and fixed all the leaks it takes a couple of days for the system to stabilize, for all the water mains to be filled and for the pressure to stay stable,” McGowen said. “Then is the time we’re allowed by the regulators to take a water sample. We have to do that in successive days in order for them to be sure there’s no issue with the water.”
He said in the past it has taken a few days after you get the leaks fixed for the system to stabilize.
“Then a couple of days for us to get the water samples and then we can lift the advisory. That also may not happen all over, all at once,” he said. “As the system reaches normal pressures and as it stabilizes and as we test, we can bring certain areas on early and other areas on as we fix. ”
McGowen says his team samples every day and they have found no issues with the water. But by regulation when they hit low pressure, they have to issue the precautionary boil water alert.
