STEVENSON, Ala. — Emergency Preparedness team members from the Tennessee Valley Authority, in conjunction with the North Alabama Mutual Aid Association, helped distribute bottled water over the weekend and into Monday to communities still impacted by utility shutoffs and boil water advisories.
Last week's winter storm prompted a number of West Lauderdale Water Authority customers to have their utility shut off, a situation which continues as of Monday. In addition, some communities serviced by the West Lawrence Water Cooperative remain under a boil water advisory. There has been no update on an estimated time of completion of repairs as of Monday afternoon.
Ardmore residents have been given the following update on their boil water advisory from Limestone County Water & Sewer Authority: "We will start sampling today to see when we can lift the boil order for LCWSA customers. Those tests have a 24-hour turnaround time, so it will likely be Tuesday Afternoon or Wednesday before the boil order can be lifted."
"After receiving requests from elected officials and EMAs in communities that were encountering water shortages and boil advisories, TVA worked to quickly facilitate the delivery of cases safe drinking water," TVA officials said in a statement on Monday. "The efforts started on Friday, continued through the weekend, and resumed today. TVA was able to fulfill these requests in less than 24 hours and [about] 6,500 cases are being distributed."
The breakdown of distribution is as follows:
Alabama
- Ardmore
- 10 pallets
- Leighton
- 10 pallets
- Lexington
- 10 pallets
- Stevenson
- 8 pallets
- West Lauderdale County
- 5 pallets
- West Lawrence County
- 5 pallets
Tennessee
- Giles County
- 3 pallets
- Lawrence County
- 10 pallets
- Mount Pleasant
- 2 pallets
- Summertown
- 3 pallets
Utility crews across North Alabama were on guard all week for calls about water pipe ruptures caused by the below-freezing temperatures that have been in place. Decatur Middle School suffered no fewer than four ruptures between pipes and HVAC systems this week, causing an estimated $1 million in damage throughout the building.
