MLGW provides update on water boil advisory for customers

Memphis’ water troubles might be coming to an end soon.

With freezing temperatures expected to end Sunday, Memphis, Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) plans for water pressure to begin returning to normal soon. On Jan. 21, the utility company held a news conference at Sheahan Pumping Station in East Memphis.

Prior to the news conference, MLGW sent out a news release reporting that as of Saturday, Jan. 20, crews had identified and repaired 41 water mains and more than 4,000 water lines supplying residents and businesses.

"Because of that work pressure in our system is building back up," MGLW president and CEO Doug McGowen said.

The Sheahan Pumping Station, located at 3941 Grandview Ave., is the city's second-oldest water treatment facility dating back to the 1930s. On Sunday, MLGW reported it will begin testing water once water pressure returns to 20 psi. Those tests will take approximately 18 to 24 hours to complete.

McGowen said if systems remain on a positive path they should be able to begin testing by Wednesday, Jan. 24. The tentative target date to lift the water boil advisory is Thursday, he said.

With below freezing temperatures exiting the area per National Weather Service reports, MLGW is asking customers to no longer drip facets once temperatures are above freezing. With the warmer temperatures, water pressure is expected to return quickly to the system. Doing so will help keep more than 10 million gallons of water in the system and increase pressure.

On Jan. 19, MLGW instituted a precautionary water boil advisory for all its customers due to lower water pressure in the system caused by artic temperatures and the winter storm front. MLGW reported approximately 15% of customers were experiencing low water pressure. On Sunday, McGowen said a small number of customers will continue to see low water pressure as water lines and mains are repaired.

McGowen urged local businesses to continue monitoring water pressure in commercial properties and said this evening will be a good indicator if the water pressure is high enough for use in restrooms. He expects most businesses will be able to return to operations tomorrow with adequate water pressure in that regard.

McGowen added that the system has seen an 22% increase in water compared to two years ago. MLGW is looking to add five more wells to the system this year, he said.

The addition of water supply will help reduce the chances of reduced water pressure and similar situations from happening in the future. If we have supply to pull from, more water can be pushed out, he said.

Cold front continues record-setting usage rate

On Sunday, Jan. 21, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) announced it reached a record-high in weekend usage at 34,284 megawatts as of 9 a.m., Jan. 21 with average system temperatures at 12 degrees Fahrenheit.

It is the highest weekend usage record and the second-highest all-time recorded usage in TVA’s history. The record was set earlier this week on Jan. 17, with a usage rate of 34,525 megawatts at a system average temperature of 4 degrees Fahrenheit.

Due to the record cold temperatures and historic utility usage, MLGW and TVA instituted (and since lifted) a temporary energy conservation last week. The high usage and system strain caused by the first winter storm of 2024 comes a little over a year since TVA and MLGW saw record usage and significant outages caused by a winter storm in December 2022.

"Our system and TVA [system] have responded pretty well to that usage for some pretty uncharted demand," McGowen said.

Neil Strebig is a journalist with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at neil.strebig@commercialappeal.com, 901-426-0679 or via X/Twitter,@neilStrebig

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: MLGW, Doug McGowen provide update on Memphis water boil advisory 2024