Main breaks encourages Creston water conservation

Extreme cold temperatures this week have created several water main breaks urging Creston Waterworks to ask its customers to voluntary conserve water to preserve amounts held in Creston’s towers.

“We have found leaks,” Creston Waterworks General Manager Steve Guthrie said Thursday morning.

“We are asking customers to conserve water in any way they can for the next 24 hours,” in a statement released Thursday, Jan. 18, by Creston Water. “We are also asking customers to call the Waterworks office if they see any water running in the street or are experiencing low water pressure.”

The broken pipes have challenged Creston Waterworks production capacity. That, in turn, causes the water tower to operate at lower amounts.

“If you can wait a little longer on doing some laundry, that would be appreciated,” Guthrie said this morning.

Creston Waterworks can be reached by telephone at (641) 782-5817.

The water conservation request comes at a time when Creston Water agreed to assist Southern Iowa Rural Water Association. Creston Waterworks board approved last week to begin negotiations to continue to supply SIRWA on a short-term basis until SIRWA fixes glitches in its new treatment plant.

Guthrie said Thursday the plant problems may be fixed sooner than expected. SIRWA activated its new water treatment plant in late December located east of Creston along U.S. Highway 34. The plant was two years in construction and intended to end decades of purchasing water from Creston for its customers. The agreement between both entities ends Jan. 21. Creston was expecting to provide SIRWA with water after Jan. 21.

Creston and SIRWA do not have a mutual aid agreement to provide for each other in certain situations. That proposal has been in discussion as SIRWA neared completion of its plant. Water from Three Mile Lake will be use by SIRWA and water from Twelve Mile Lake will be used by Creston as both lakes are east of Creston. Three Mile is also undergoing renovations by the state to redcue sediment build up and improve fish habitat. Water levels have been lowered at Three Mile for the work.

During Creston’s meeting last week, Guthrie said Creston is providing about 400,000 gallons a day to a portion of Clarke County since the city of Osceola has been in water conservation mode because of limited amounts from its water sources.