Chatham-Kent is telling residents and businesses in Chatham and several nearby communities to cut their water use to essential purposes only after the municipal water system ran into significant supply problems following repairs to the main transmission line that feeds the Chatham Water Treatment Plant.
The municipality says there is no impact to the safety or quality of the drinking water and that water from the system remains safe to drink. Officials describe the restrictions as temporary and necessary to maintain adequate supplies while the system stabilizes after the repair work.
The emergency restrictions apply to Chatham, Grande Pointe, Pain Court, Dover Centre, Mitchell’s Bay, Dresden, Tupperville, Eberts, Jeannette’s Creek, Thamesville and Kent Bridge.
Until further notice, residents in those communities are being directed to use municipal water only for drinking, brushing teeth and flushing toilets. They are being asked to stop showering and bathing, doing laundry, watering lawns and gardens, washing vehicles, filling pools or hot tubs and any other non-essential water use.
The municipality is warning residents not to fill bathtubs, buckets or other containers to store water as a precaution, saying doing so would place additional demand on the system, further reduce water pressure and increase the risk of a system-wide pressure loss.
Officials say storage reservoirs are approaching critically low levels and the system is at risk of losing pressure, and that reducing consumption immediately will help stabilize the system and provide the time necessary for full water production to resume.
Industrial, commercial and institutional water customers are being contacted directly and asked to significantly restrict their consumption. Some large water users are shutting down or rescheduling production and other activities that require significant volumes of water.
Businesses whose operations involve significant water consumption, including car washes, dog washes and laundromats, are being asked to voluntarily close for the day. Restaurants and other significant commercial water users are also being asked to reduce or cease water-intensive operations wherever possible to help preserve the municipal water supply and maintain system pressure.
The municipality is also shutting down municipal operations that require significant water use in the affected communities, including splash pads, arenas and municipal pools.
Officials say the restrictions are intended to be a short-term measure while the water system stabilizes following the transmission line repairs.
Residents and businesses are asked to take the restrictions seriously and reduce their water consumption immediately. The municipality says a collective reduction in water use will help protect the system and reduce the likelihood of a complete loss of water pressure.
The municipality will continue to monitor the system closely and will provide updates as additional information becomes available. Residents are asked to continue following the emergency severe water restrictions until the municipality advises that they have been lifted.
