FLORENCE, S.C. – Water pressure has returned to normal for city of Florence water customers, Florence Mayor Teresa Myers Ervin said during a press conference Tuesday at the City Center council chambers.
The water pressure plummeted in late afternoon of Christmas Day. City employees left their families Christmas Day to inspect the city’s water distribution system for water main breaks and leaks, Ervin said. Employees continued inspections Monday and Tuesday.
City employees found a break on an 8-inch water line on Schlitz Drive. They also discovered numerous water line breaks at residential homes, businesses, industries and Florence 1 Schools buildings, City of Florence Utilities/Economic Development Director Michael Hemingway said at the press conference.
“The water-line break was repaired Monday,” Hemingway said. “We are still out investigating and going around and looking at businesses that are still closed to make sure those facilities are OK.”
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When city employees discovered a problem, they turned off water to those homes and facilities and contacted the business owners or designated representative. If they are unavailable, employees left a door hanger explaining what happened.
The arctic front that dropped Florence’s low temperatures into the teens last week caused water lines to freeze, which created breaks when the ice thawed as temperatures climbed above freezing on Christmas Day, Hemingway said.
Florence water customers started notifying the city after-hours number around 4 p.m. Christmas Day about problems with low-water pressure, Hemingway said. City employees left Christmas Day family gatherings to start inspecting the city’s water distribution system.
“We divided the city up into four quadrants,” Hemingway said. “We sent employees to every section of the city to identify problems on our main 36-inch that leaves our surface water facility that comes down Williston Road and East Old Marion Road. We looked at the 18-inch water main along Pisgah Road. That is on the western side of our system and then the 12-inch line on Paper Mill Road. We focused on the major lines in the system, and we didn’t find any issues there.”
Once the major lines were inspected, city employees started looking at the smaller distribution lines in the system, he said.
“We narrowed our way in from that perspective,” he said.
For now, the boil-water advisory for all city of Florence water customers remain in effect, he said. City employees collected more bacteriological samples Tuesday and submitted them to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control for testing.
Under the boil water advisory, Florence water customers were asked to boil water vigorously for at least a minute before drinking and using it for cooking.
Hemingway said he expects to receive the test results early Wednesday morning. If they come back negative, the boil-water advisory will be lifted on Wednesday.
The city of Florence water system serves about 80,000 customers, Hemingway said. All were asked to follow the boil-water advisory.
Approximately 20 million gallons of water flowed out of the water distribution system because of line breaks, he said. Water pressure dropped to about 20 pounds per square inch. It’s normally 50 pounds per square inch.
The water pressure returned to normal Monday night, Hemingway said. It remained stable Tuesday morning when use increases because people bathe or shower before work and make breakfast, he said.
The city is aware of the inconvenience and frustrations the low-water pressure issue caused for Florence water customers, City Manager Randy Osterman said.
“As soon as we were notified and made aware of the situation, we mobilized as many of our employees as possible to start combating the issue,” Osterman said.
Water customers have been great about notifying the city about problems, he said.
“We asked them if they saw something to report it to us, and they did,” Osterman said. “I want them to know that every report we received was investigated. It turned up additional leaks in our system and also led us to some issues on private property. We took every one of those tips very seriously.”
The mayor urged residents to monitor the city’s Facebook page and the city’s website – www.cityofflorence.com – for continued water-pressure updates and other news about the city.
