LYNN - The saying “you never miss the water till the well runs dry” can be applied to residents living on County Road 59 in Lynn, except in this case, low to no water traveling by pipe to their area has become a severe issue.
The ongoing issue of low to no water pressure for at least five households on County Road 59 has become so severe that the Lynn Town Council has taken action to purchase a new pumping station to ease their issue and provide them with more water.
At their Tuesday, Jan. 20, meeting, the town council took a unanimous vote to purchase a new DuraMAC dual mode duplex booster pump for $20,000, including parts and accessories.
Council Member Fred Easley made the motion to make the purchase, with Chris Little seconding the motion, and all voting in favor, including Easley, Little, Brian Heck, Tommy Chambless, Daniel Dodd and Mayor Earl Gilbert.
Half of the cost of the pumping station, or $10,000, will come from the town’s water account, with the remaining $10,000 coming from the town’s general account, stated Town Clerk Marcia Manasco.
Manasco stressed these residents on County Road 59 are paying their water bills, but at times are out of water for two or three hours or have low water pressure.
Manasco stressed that the town has some businesses that are pulling more water than in the past, which is causing lower pressure in the area of County Road 59 near Highway 5.
“We have had a lot of complaints,“ Manasco stated. “When it comes back on, they may only have a small stream of water.
“It’s been going on for a while, but now it’s beginning to get more serious,” Manasco pointed out.
“Due to the phone calls we have been receiving, they just run completely out of water or they don’t even have pressure enough to even rinse their hair or to fill up a bathtub,” added Lynn Water Clerk Kris Gray.
“It takes an hour to fill up a bathtub for people to get their kids’ bath, much less trying to cook, wash clothes, just normal household chores,” Gray added. “They are struggling tremendously there. I feel bad for them.”
One of the residents on County Road 59 struggling with low to no water is Evelyn Hicks, who pointed out it seems like it’s been forever that she has been dealing with inadequate water pressure.
Hicks noted she has been in her shower when the water actually stopped. She would have to contact Lynn Town Hall so a town employee could turn the water back on so she could finish her shower.
“We could try to see what time we could take a shower that we knew the water wouldn’t go off,” Hicks pointed out. “There was not a time. (The water) would go off.
“You couldn’t wash a load of clothes if anybody else on the line is taking a shower,” Hicks continued.
“It’s beyond frustrating,” Hicks emphasized. “We shouldn’t have to live like this.
“This is ridiculous,” Hicks continued to point out. “We pay our bills. We are a water customer, so we should be getting water.”
Lynn Water Superintendent Joseph Bell noted water pressure issues began with just one residence on County Road 59, but other residents have moved into the area and more businesses are pulling more water than in the past, as well.
Although the problem has been increasing over the past two years, town officials were seeking the source of the problem in order to try to remedy the situation, Bell explained.
“Initially, it started when we took our (water) tank offline,” Bell stated.
At that time, the town had decided not to use the water tank for water, with all water to be gravity fed through the lines, Manasco recalled. This took place at least 10 years ago, town officials added.
“We experienced problems periodically after the tank went offline,” Bell explained. “During football season when the school was open and they were watering the football fields, it would start getting interruptions, but it would correct itself.”
When the football field at Lynn Schools is being watered, it pulls between 100 and 200 gallons of water per minute from the town, Bell confirmed.
“We have two businesses now that are maybe employing more people. They are more productive and they are using more water,” Manasco said.
One company, for example, is pulling from the town 120 to 140 gallons of water per minute for two to three hours, Bell stated.
This will cease for about two to three hours, with the company continuing to pull that amount of water again for another two to three hours, he added.
County Road 59 residents have been experiencing low water pressure due to the higher elevation of that area, making it more difficult to pull water up the hill, Bell explained.
“When County Road 59 started out, it was poorly engineered,” Bell admitted.
Lynn obtains water from Haleyville at the four-way stop intersection at Natural Bridge, about four miles north of County Road 59 off Highway 5, town officials explained.
Town officials have to regulate the water pressure coming from Haleyville, at 60 pounds per square inch, according to Bell.
“As you are coming this way down the highway (5), a three-inch main shoots water out toward County Road 59,” Bell continued.
“That elevation at Natural Bridge is 773 feet above sea level,” he noted. “The (residents) having trouble with water pressure are at 843 feet above sea level.”
As water travels uphill, it loses .433 pounds per foot, Bell further explained. “The water coming up the hill at County Road 59 loses pressure as it comes up,” Bell explained.
“I need to bump them up an additional, at least 30 PSI,” he said.
The new pumping station will be erected on County Road 59 near Highway 5, where a three inch main crosses the highway providing water to that area.
The Nauvoo community also pulls 220 gallons per minute from the town of Lynn for 12 to 14 hours a day, Bell explained.
As the water pressure drops, the water line carrying the water will be regulated to 30 PSI, according to Bell.
“The pumps will be set on the other side, and as County Road 59 (water) pressure starts to drop, those pumps will kick on, pull that water and up that pressure on the other side,” he explained.
In order to achieve this, the present three-inch water line will be divided with an isolation valve placed in the middle, with two 2-inch lines added, bypassing it to come through the pumping station, Bell further explained.
From this point, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management must approve a permit for the project, with Bell meanwhile working to prepare the site for the pumping station, he said.
“I am confident ADEM is going to approve it,” Bell stated.
“People who have plenty of water, they don’t know how important water is,” Hicks said.
See complete story in the Northwest Alabamian.
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