COLUMBIA, S.C. — An important practice to prevent pipes from bursting during freezing weather may also be exacerbating water outages and low pressure in the Lower Richland area. Now, some residents are under a boil water advisory.
Crews are in the area attempting to solve the issue that is behind the outages and pressure drops. According to Columbia Water, these crews have managed to identify and repair some significant leaks in the area that were caused by the extreme temperatures and others are also working to assist water customers with emergency shut-off requests.
However, a contributing factor may be making the situation worse. According to Columbia Water, the region of Richland County is seeing higher-than-normal water use as customers let their faucets run to avoid their pipes freezing.
"While one running faucet does not create a challenge, tens of thousands of running faucets can create a critical situation for any water system," a spokesperson said in a statement provided late Monday.
Water officials said that residents only need to have a slow drip running to help keep plumbing protected from freezing.
Due to the current pressure issues, Columbia Water said it is already taking several calls and staff is working to address them. The water provider apologized for any inconvenience caused.
Anyone with emergency issues is still urged to call 803-545-3300.
"If you get a busy signal when calling the after-hours emergency line to report an emergency please wait a few minutes and try your call again as all lines may be tied up due to the increase in call volumes," Columbia Water said in its statement.
Boil water advisory
Since the pressure issues were first announced, a boil water advisory has been issued for a portion of Ridge Road in the 1100 and 1200 blocks as well as Penn Road and Swandale Estates in the Hopkins area.
Customers are urged to boil their water for at least one minute before using it for drinking or cooking. Anyone who lost water or water pressure and isn't on the streets mentioned should also boil water for one minute.