Fords Valley water situation improving

Fords Valley & Highway 278 Water Authority Manager Kenneth Helms said water conditions looked a little better for the system Wednesday morning.

Crews were out all night Monday and throughout the day Tuesday looking for a possible leak suspected as the cause of a drop in the community’s water supply.

Helms said Tuesday that the tank was down to a quarter-full. Wednesday morning, he said, the tank level was better and the authority was using two pumps to try to draw more water into it. The authority buys water from Hokes Bluff.

Helms said he believed people had heeded the cautions about water use, and that helped.

He said there are questions now as to whether there actually was a leak. It’s believed the low level of water could have been the result of heavy water usage alone.

When the tank gets back to normal levels, he said, and water usage goes back to normal, system operators may know more about the cause of the water level drop.

As crews continue to investigate the shortage, the Gadsden-Etowah County Emergency Management Agency asks that people still limit usage.