MARION  (AP) — A power surge caused by a storm has forced a Mississippi town to operate its water system by hand.

Marion Mayor Elvis Hudson tells WTOK-TV that he has been checking the system once every hour since the Saturday storm. Hudson compares hand operating the system to hand cranking a car.

Hudson says a crew has been requested from Jackson to fix the problem, but the real problem is that the town doesn’t have the money to replace the system. He says he hopes state funding may help the town replace the system. The most recent census count says there are about 1,500 residents in Marion and the mayor says about 5,000 pass through the town daily.