The City of Saline says it will likely be the end of the week before it knows what happened to a major water well and how long it will take to be repaired. In the meantime, the request to stop all non-essential water use continues.
City officials say the pump for the Number 5 well, the main source of water from the aquifer, stopped functioning while the Number 7 well was down for needed improvements.
Three other wells are working but can’t pump out enough water to meet normal demand. Acting City Manager Elle Cole says that’s what’s led to the water supply shortage.
“Due to the delays on Well 7, the timing didn’t quite work out. And well 5, we don’t know it had yet, but it had a malfunction. So, some of these things you can’t protect, it’s like a car engine, right?”
There is no need to boil water. Saline residents are being asked to avoid irrigation and watering lawns, along with avoiding washing cars, filling pools or other non-essential water use until the problem is resolved.
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