Major water line failure affects parts of Crittenden County

A water distribution and supply emergency affected parts of Crittenden County Thursday as the result of a catastrophic leak on an eight-inch water line.

The leak was discovered Wednesday afternoon around 2:30 pm, and repairs were completed at approximately 7:15 pm. The line supplies the Wilson Hill water tank, which is located above the City of Marion, and serves a majority of water customers across Crittenden County.

Despite the repair, the Crittenden-Livingston Water District said water levels in the Wilson Hill tank dropped significantly because it could not be refilled during the outage. Adding to the problem was the inability of the Webster County Water District to provide supplemental supply, due to their inability to meet current demand. Officials said that rolling outages could be possible, and they requested all customers to conserve water.

Late Thursday afternoon, officials with Crittenden-Livingston Water and Crittenden County Judge Executive Perry Newcom announced that rolling outages would not be necessary at this time due to the improved water levels at the Wilson Hill tank. However, they stressed that continued water conservation would be necessary with several days of freezing temperatures yet to come.

PHOTO: Crittenden-Livingston Water District