An official with the city of Kyle, responding to a request for clarification, said that all water usage should be suspended, including the dripping of faucets and toilet flushing, until power outages at key locations are remedied.
Original story
The city of Kyle made a plea to residents the morning of Feb. 15 to conserve water after the power went out at a water treatment plant, but now, the city is asking residents to suspend all unnecessary water usage as the water supply dwindles.
Due to power outages, the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority has been unable to supply water from Lake Dunlap to a surface water treatment plant in San Marcos, a news release from the city said. On a normal day, the plant provides residents of multiple cities with up to 4.8 million gallons of water.
The city said GBRA crews could not assess the situation at the plant until Feb. 15 because of road conditions but that they are working to get the pump station back in service. However, the city of Kyle has not received a timeline for when service would resume, the release said.
Until surface water power is restored, only essential water use is advised, such as letting faucets drip to prevent burst pipes.
Kyle was producing a limited amount of water using groundwater wells, but recurring power outages have exacerbated the well system's limited capacity.
Buda residents are currently being asked only to conserve water.
A call to San Marcos officials about water conservation was not immediately returned.
San Marcos, Buda and Kyle have not issued any notices for residents to boil water.
