In their last update of the evening Kentucky American Water Company at 7:00 pm reassured the people living under a declared emergency in Owen County that they were expediting a solution to the water outage and expected tangible results by Friday morning.
"Update as of 7:00 PM:
Here is a final update for the evening. You may be aware that Kentucky American Water has been building a new pipeline from the Kentucky River Station at Hardin’s Landing plant on US 127 to connect with the current Owenton water distribution system. The Kentucky River Station plant can produce 20 times the amount of water as the current Owenton plant. Although the current plant has been operating at full capacity, it has not been able to produce water fast enough to fully restore the system after the water supply had gotten so low. The pipeline connection to the new plant was not yet scheduled to be open, but crews and contractors have been working hard to speed things up so that it can hopefully be safely opened tomorrow, and provide a more ample and reliable water supply for Owen County customers. This evening, workers will be chlorinating the new line to eliminate any contamination, and then flush the line to finish the cleansing process. Once these preparations have been completed, water can begin flowing through the new line into the Owenton system sometime tomorrow to give the needed push to restore water service. Another update will be provided around 9 AM tomorrow morning to report progress. Thank you again for your patience as we continue to work overnight to restore water service." [Kentucky American Facebook Page]
Comments by residents under that post and others suggests a degree of doubt directed at KAW. No one is blaming the hard working employees, the many community volunteers and the elected officials for not taking action sooner or doing enough under the circumstances, but promises by KAW are not being accepted without some degree of skepticism.
Local volunteer fire departments, like the one in Jonesville, have been staying open late to distribute water to people in need.
Distribution of drinking water has been aided by soft drink companies and individuals with large water tanks delivering what water is available to farmers to water livestock and to people in need of water for sanitation.
The New Horizons Hospital in Owenton received a large tank of water which they have been using to flush toilets by carrying water inside in buckets.
The Owenton Manor facility received a large delivery of bottled water and has been dealing with its sanitation issues much the same ways as the hospital.
Owen county can be very proud of the resourcefulness of its citizens. As one man said "a country boy can survive."
But there are residents who do not have access to the internet for the purpose of receiving updates and explanations and details of how and where they might find relief.
Families with small children unable to use their toilets, do dishes or provide basic hygiene for infants and the elderly have been subjected to the worst of the situation.
Most folks are just finding other ways to bathe. One family bought bottled water, boiled a couple gallons and put it in a bucket and stepped into the shower and "dipped, scrubbed and rinsed."
Some have headed for local motels, others have decided to stay and take care of themselves the best they can. Quite a few have given of their time to help the less fortunate.
No doubt the folks at Kentucky American will have some hard questions to answer in the coming weeks, but for the time being, Owen Countians are surviving a real emergency. Better preparation for such events in the future will be a topic of conversation not only with the utility, but in homes across the county where self reliance this week got a bit of a shot in the arm.
I heard Dolly Parton once say when she was little and it was bath time in the corner behind a curtain. The kids would wash down as far as possible, then up as far as possible. Then they'ed wash possible. Sounds like your situation. Stay straddle of their backs, and make them get it right. Foreign operation of a local utility is ridiculous.
Posted by: GeorGe Foltz | January 09, 2014 at 09:54 PM