WATER SHORTAGE IN CAPE

The lack of rain coupled with more water use is forcing a depletion of Cape Girardeau's water reserve and city officials are asking for citizens to cut back their use.

And to make matters worse, a 12-inch water main broke at about 7 p.m. Thursday at the corner of Old Sprigg and Bertling Street.

"It's awful timing," said Kevin Priester, Alliance Water Resources manager.

"At this point we are exceeding our daily production levels," Priester said "Our main concern now is that there could be a problem if there is a water main break, a mechanical failure or a major fire."

Thursday night, the advisory was just for residents to continue with the voluntary water conservation. But the situation could change as city officials assess the damage. Priester said everything depends on how quickly the main is fixed.

At 10 p.m. workers were still digging and the main had not been uncovered. Priester said it could take as little as 30 minutes to fix once it is dug up or as much as four hours.

In light of the circumstances, he is asking people to make an effort to conserve water usage.

"We really would appreciate if people would cooperate and not water their lawns until we get the reserves up," Priester said.

When the main broke, it was leaking about 2,000 gallons per minute. Within two hours of the break more than 100 people had called with complaints of low pressure or none at all.

The lack of rainfall has compounded the problem. City Manager Michael Miller said the city is not in dire straits, but if there is no rain for awhile, it is only going to get worse. He said just as his staff was completing the press release about the issue, it started raining.

But he said for the time being citizens should exercise some discipline in their water usage.

"We are just asking that people not use too much water so we can get the reserve up," Miller said.

Doug Leslie, director of Public Works, said the water situation is being monitored hourly. He said there may be the need for more city action in the future, but at this point the situation is manageable.

Another factor in the problem is that the city is near the capacity of what water can be produced. To balance that out, citizens passed a one-fourth cent sales tax in 1996 to upgrade the water system. But the facilities have not yet been built.

The additional 1.75 million gallon clear well is near completion. Other projects such as the additional filter, more pumping capacity and larger supply mains from the plant to the system should be complete in the next 18 months.

In the mean time, the city is exceeding its water production and the lack of rain fall to Cape Girardeau has caused some alarm. City officials recommend that residents do larger laundry loads, take shorter showers, check for any water leaks and generally avoid letting water run for too long.

Priester said he would like to see people be more conservative until the city gets more rain. He said the heat is a big factor in the problem, but it could quickly change with rain. Even the little rain the city got Thursday afternoon was a help.