yikes! no water...

It started mid-morning. The water from the kitchen faucet seemed to be flowing less then normal. Hmm... it must just be my imagination. Nope! I looked out of the front door to see water pouring from the sewer covers. Uh oh.

One of my neighbors had noticed a little earlier and jumped through some hoops to figure out who to call. The water department is closed on Sundays, no help there. She ended up calling the police department non-emergency line. It turns out there was a major water main break just across the road from us, and it appears that to prevent flooding the entire area the water was directed into the sewer lines. The pumping station on the corner was totally overwhelmed, unable to keep up with the unexpected water flow. By early afternoon the water was turned off.

I spoke with someone from the water department who drove by just a while ago. While it is possible the water main will be fixed later today the water won't be turned on until they can verify there is no bacteria present in the water. Given the time it takes to test the water it sounds like we will be lucky if water service is restored by late tomorrow.

I assume that water will always flow from the faucets whenever it is needed; it's quite disconcerting when it doesn't.

updates in the evening:
I just got home from a pleasant early evening walk to find that the water is back on. Phew!

A bit later... an automated phone call from the town said not to drink the water until testing is completed and an all clear call is received, probably tomorrow. I have plenty of bottled water for drinking and cooking, and I'm delighted that the plumbing (all of it!) is now back in order.