Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Huntsville officials shut off water due to a major leak between the water plant and storage tank.
- Mayor Richard Sorensen urged residents to conserve water as the tank's capacity fell to 6% of capacity.
- Efforts to locate the leak include using gas sensors, and Eden water station offers assistance for residents needing water.
HUNTSVILLE — Residents in Huntsville are being asked to conserve water as town officials look to fix a major leak impacting the town's water storage.
On Friday, at approximately 10 a.m., Huntsville town mayor Richard Sorensen announced the discovery of a water leak between the town's water plant and the million-gallon water storage tank, which is "located some 3,000 to 4,000 linear feet up the mountain."
"I mean, we'd rather be getting ready for Christmas than doing this," Sorensen told KSL-TV.
According to Sorensen, officials discovered that the town's water tank storage was declining faster than it could be refilled on Monday. On Thursday afternoon, the tank went from 15% capacity to 10% in 24 hours.
By Friday morning, Sorensen said the tank was at 6% capacity, with only 60,500 gallons left, which equates to about 10 hours of water left.
On Friday afternoon, the Huntsville town website alerted its residents that the water team was shutting down the water.
"We will post an update when the system is back and running. Water will continue to flow through the pipes for sometime," the alert stated. "Continue to conserve, but water is available.
At 11:50 p.m., the town of Huntsville announced that they were still unable to find the source of the leak and the water was still shut off.
"No significant leaks have been found – just a few smaller leaks. That said, we are losing substantially more water than we can pump into the storage tank," Sorensen said on the Huntsville official Facebook page.
The mayor is asking for residents to be mindful of their water usage as officials search for the leak.
"We hope to be able to provide our residents and businesses some water," Sorensen said. "But we are asking our residents to conserve and don't fill up your bathtubs, don't wash your laundry."
That message reached residents like Chad McKay, who has stocked up on water by using his in-laws well.
"We filled up about three of these 5-gallon containers so we have enough water to make it through the next little bit until we can get the water fixed here," McKay said.
Sorensen said the town contractor is looking for the leak by "injecting the suspect line with a gas mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen," which will allow officials to find the leak with a special sensor.
"Additionally, council member (Bruce) Ahlstrom, our emergency manager, reached out to Weber County for possible assistance. Also, we have reached out to Eden water, who has generously offered to set up a water filling station in Eden near the LDS stake center if the need arises. Hopefully, with our combined conservation efforts, they won't be needed," Sorensen said.
Water is available at 6500 E. 1900 North in Eden on Saturday between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Residents are being asked to bring their own containers to fill.
Town employees have bottled water for residents in front of the new town hall at 7474 E. 200 South starting at noon. "Please save the bottled water for your neighbors who are unable to fill their own water," an update from Huntsville says.
Bathrooms and showers have been made available at the Huntsville LDS Stake center, with water available out of the kitchen as well, according to a Saturday morning update. The building will be open until 10 p.m. Saturday and open at 6:30 a.m. Sunday.
The Ogden Valley Community Church is also offering bathrooms on Saturday.
