Holly Springs and Fuqua Varina water emergency
HARNETT COUNTY Utility operators said a water line from a Harnett County plant
ruptured Sunday, cutting off the major supply source for Holly
Springs and Fuquay-Varina.
Holly Springs town spokesman Mark Andrews said the town was able
to quickly restore a previous connection to Raleigh's water system,
where it can get about 1.2 million gallons per day. But that's only
about one-third of what the area normally uses, and officials are
urging residents through reverse 911 calls, billboards and media to
use water for only cooking and drinking.
"Under best case scenario, we're still severely restricted,"
Andrews said.
Andrews said the town is also working to re-establish an old
connection with nearby Apex.
Fuquay-Varina, meanwhile, declared a state of emergency and
temporarily banned water irrigation to save supplies. That town
also has backup sources from Raleigh and Johnston County.
"It looks like that we're going to be OK," said Fuquay-Varina
Mayor John Byrne. "But you don't really know in a situation like
this."
Rodney Tart, Harnett County's director of public utilities, said
a lightning storm created a power surge that shut an
emergency valve at a base plant, creating a bulge of pressure and
rupturing the 36-inch pipe. The break flooded the room, shorting
out all electrical controls, Tart said.
"While the situation is bad, it's good that we got the rain
along with the storm because it probably cut demand in half," Tart
said.