The City of Forney announced earlier this week that its main water pump was out of commission and asked residents to limit water usage.
As of Friday residents were still encouraged to avoid unnecessary uses of water, but the city reported that “3 of the 4 pumps at their main pump station are back online.”
The trouble began with Forney’s main pump station on September 5.
All Markout Water Supply Corporation customers were subsequently asked to limit their water use to the necessities, including drinking and bathing, until further notice.
“While this is inconvenient, this step is imperative to guarantee an adequate water supply for necessities during this critical period,” the City of Forney said in a public notification.
Forney officials revealed that the issues were all related to a gasket failure that then damaged motors and caused electrical issues in other pumps, according to CBS News.
Progress has since been made in restoring operations, with public works crews working to replace the pumps late into the evening.
Cities across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex have experienced a number of recent issues regarding water infrastructure.
A large main break in Fort Worth resulted in water gushing down the city’s streets and later the death of many fish in the Trinity River from runoff, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
More recently, residents of Frisco Ranch expressed their frustration with inconsistent water pressure due to multiple issues, including pump and electrical failures.
High temperatures in North Texas over the summer months are thought to be the culprit in many failures in the water infrastructure of local cities.
Pipes made of cast iron are said to be of particular vulnerability to high temperatures, leading some cities like Fort Worth to consider increases in their water rates in order to make upgrades.
In Fort Worth’s case, it has approximately 800 miles of deteriorating cast iron pipes running below ground. Progress has been slow in trying to replace them, with the city averaging roughly 20 miles of new pipe lays a year.
