Water service slowly returning to Vicksburg

Published 6:12 pm Saturday, February 20, 2021

About 85 percent of the Vicksburg Water System’s customers are back on with full service, Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said Saturday evening.

Flaggs said the system had some minor problems with air in some sections of the lines that made it difficult for the water to reach some customers.

“What people need to do open their faucets and leave them open so the water can flow,” he said.

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Water and Gas superintendent Dane Lovell said the leaks city crews have been finding “is on customers. We haven’t found any leaks in our system.”

“To all property owners within the City of Vicksburg: instances of continued low water pressure are a result of ruptured/frozen lines,” Flaggs said in a press release Saturday evening. “We’re asking everyone to please check all buildings and property that you own that may be contributing to these pressure problems if you have not checked them in the past 5 days. If you identify a leak, please call me on my cell phone at 601-942-0492.”

Most of the commercial leaks, he said, involve fire suppression systems that broke because of the subfreezing weather. He said water is available to customers.

“We have water on 61 North, water on 61 South, Porter’s Chapel,” he said. “Everyone should have water; they may have low pressure, but they have water. We have some high areas where we have problems with air in the line but we’ll have to work that out.”

Timmy Tedder, maintenance supervisor and operator with the Hilldale Water District said the system was running without problems. “We’re good,” he said.

Paul Banchetti, president of the Eagle Lake Water District, said the district’s system is operating but customers are under a boil water notice until further notice.

Attempts to contact the Culkin, Fisher Ferry and Yokena-Jeff Davis Water districts for updates were unsuccessful.

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

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