#BastropStrong: City asks residents to conserve water so lines can be pressurized, service restored

The city of Bastrop is asking residents who have water to conserve it and not let faucets drip as city crews work to pressurize water lines and restore the service to all customers. 

The city’s water pumping capacity has been affected by power outages and the existing demand is exceeding supply, the city said Thursday afternoon. “Without enough water it is not possible to pressurize lines to bring back water service to parts of our community,” the city said. 

Though allowing faucets to drip may help keep pipes from freezing, the city said alternate methods exists to protect the infrastructure, such as insulating pipes with foam rubber insulation, heat tape, duct tape, old rags or anything to block the flow of cold air; opening cabinet doors to expose pipes to the warmer air inside the home; inspecting areas around the pipes for drafts from outside and fill exposures with caulk; removing attachments such as hoses from outdoor pipes; and shutting off the water main and draining all pipes by opening all faucets. 

“Thank you, Bastrop,” the city said. “We are in this together. #BastropStrong.”

All Bastrop water customers are under active boil-water notices. 

Customers are asked to boil their water to a vigorous, rolling boil and then let it boil for two minutes to ensure any harmful bacteria or other microbes are destroyed. Let the water cool before using it for drinking, cooking, hand washing or any other consumption or use. 

The city is advising residents who are unable to boil their water to “purchase bottled water or obtain water from some other suitable source.”