Below is the City of Marion's official news release issued today with an update on the water crisis.
Today city officials met with the Division of Water and the National Guard to discuss more viable options for alleviating the City of Marion’s water crisis. Currently the city has a 19-to-20-day supply of water, with no significant rain expected in the forest for the next 10 days. Because of this, Stage 3 emergency procedures remain in effect, and we ask that you continue to limit your water usage to necessary activities of daily living such as personal hygiene, washing laundry, cooking, etc., and to avoid unnecessary water usage such as watering lawns, washing vehicles, and filling swimming pools. Further information on Stage 3 procedures and how to help conserve water can be found on the City of Marion’s Facebook page, and at the Crittenden Press, the public library, and the Extension Office.The National Guard plans to coordinate a convoy for water hauling from the Ohio and/or Cumberland rivers to City Lake to further support the City’s water supply, pending chemistry results of water samples from these locations. Should any issues arise with chemistry, the Division of Water is prepared to assist in their resolution. The Transportation Cabinet will also assist with preparations of City Lake. Information regarding water sample testing and the water hauling convoy should be available later this week. We will release this to the public as soon as it is available. In addition, we continue to expect partial water needs to be met by Crittenden-Livingston, Webster and Caldwell Counties. Efforts are ongoing to resolve gravitational flow issues to allow the Webster County production project to provide support.Further meetings are planned tomorrow to coordinate with regional water supply partners to discuss additional efforts. The National Guard, Emergency Management, County, and City will be coordinating a water distribution program to begin operation as early as Thursday this week. We will release full details regarding this distribution tomorrow. We appreciate your continued patience and cooperation. We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.
Marion City Council met Monday night in regular session and about 30 individuals were in attendance. This week's full edition of The Press will have further details about the ongoing water issue.
