After water main break, City of Lawrence asks residents to cut back on water use temporarily; drinking water service won’t be affected
Update: On Friday morning, the City of Lawrence announced that it was no longer asking residents to voluntarily reduce their water consumption.
After a water main broke near the intersection of 23rd and Iowa streets on Thursday, the City of Lawrence is asking residents to voluntarily reduce their water use until repairs can be made.
In a news release, the city said the 24-inch water main that supplies water from the Clinton Water Treatment Plant to much of the community broke late Thursday afternoon. Crews will be working through the night to repair the water main, the release said, and the city is “asking for voluntary reduction in water usage through Friday” as the repairs take place.
“The City recognizes this is a high demand time for water in the community,” the release said. “However, it is also important with the excessive heat that we all help where possible to allow the City (to) refill water towers overnight, so they are ready for the next day.”
The release said that drinking water service would not be affected, and that a secondary water line would be used to deliver water while the repairs were made.
Specifically, the release asked residents to take shorter showers and to cut back on using water to wash cars, water plants and refill pools. It said the city was also “working with large water users within the community” to reduce their water use, and that it would notify residents when the repairs were finished.