Muristek
'A perfect storm': Drought, extreme heat and two faulty wells threaten a North Texas town’s water supply
The city of Gunter alerted its residents on Wednesday night that by the next morning, the city would likely run out of water.
“Due to excessive water consumption, the City’s water storage tanks are unable to refill. Consequently, the City will be without water by early morning,” read the emergency notification.
As of Thursday afternoon, the city had not yet run out of water, but residents are asked to continue conserving.
“We’re on the brink. We’re teetering. It’s a balancing act. It’s a 50/50 proposition,” said Gunter City Manager Rick Chaffin.
The excessive heat this summer, two malfunctioning wells and the residents who have not adhered to the water conservation have created what Chaffin describes as a “perfect storm.”
”If we don’t adhere to the restrictions, we definitely won’t have water,” Chaffin said, though he added he’s hoping it won’t come to that. “We’re optimistic — cautiously optimistic.”
Gunter, about 50 miles north of Dallas, typically relies on three wells for its water supply, but two of them are down due to a motor issue and an electrical failure, city officials said. One of the wells that is down is a new one that began pumping water to the city last fall.
“Wells are typically designed to run at 50-60% of the time. Due to extreme heat, drought conditions and water demand, these wells were running continuously, which is why they continue to fail,” said a letter the city sent to residents Thursday to update them on the water emergency.
Work to fix one of the wells has already begun, and contractors are expected to start repairs on the other one Friday, the letter said. Officials didn’t have a timeline for the repairs.
Texas has been experiencing a particularly hot summer, with drought conditions...