Mitchellville residents asked to conserve water; elementary school reopens Friday
Thursday night update: Mitchellville Elementary students and staff will return to the classroom Friday after the school was closed for a couple of days due to limited water access because of a city well failure.The City of Mitchellville is asking residents to continue limiting water usage through tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. Crews are working to refill the emergency reserves in the water tower, and officials say this can only happen if usage is limited. The water is still safe to drink, but bottled water is available at the Community Center for anyone who needs it. The city is reminding people this is about how much water it has, not the quality of the water.Thursday morning update: The city of Mitchellville is recommending that water conservation efforts continue Thursday. In a Facebook post around 9:30 a.m., officials reminded residents that the water was still safe, but they needed to continue to limit use following a mechanical problem that created a strain on the city’s water supply. An answer to Mitchellville’s request for people living and working in town to conserve water rolled into town Wednesday afternoon. The Hy-Vee semi-truck came to town with a major donation aimed at easing the city’s water strain. The truck delivered a trailer full of bottled water — about 46,000 pounds of drinking water — for residents, with supplies staged at the community center so people could pick up their water easily.Organizers said the goal is broad access. “We want to make sure that we can get it out to all the people,” said Nedra Hoover, the community center’s secretary.Hoover said the bottled water does more than help families stay stocked — it also supports the city’s conservation effort. She said the more residents rely on bottled water, the fewer times they need to turn on the tap, reducing demand on the system.“If we can do anything to help out our wells and our water tower, it’s great to be able to donate some water for us,” Hoover said.City officials say the conservation request stems from a mechanical problem, not a safety issue, and called it a quantity issue, not a quality issue. In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Mitchellville said the pump on Well 3 failed Tuesday evening and that staff coordinated emergency pump service and adjusted operations while repairs are pending.Mitchellville Elementary was closed on Wednesday and is again on Thursday, a move city officials requested “to help reduce overall system demand.”The water conservation notice remains in effect. We are also recommending that school be closed tomorrow to help reduce overall system demand.The city emphasized that residents’ water remains safe, saying there is “no issue with the quality of water being distributed” and that the challenge is “mechanical and production capacity,” not contamination. One resident said she hopes the fix ends the community’s water worries; otherwise, she favors a long-term solution. “Hook us up with some good water” from Des Moines, said Beverly Pearson.
Thursday night update: Mitchellville Elementary students and staff will return to the classroom Friday after the school was closed for a couple of days due to limited water access because of a city well failure.
The City of Mitchellville is asking residents to continue limiting water usage through tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. Crews are working to refill the emergency reserves in the water tower, and officials say this can only happen if usage is limited. The water is still safe to drink, but bottled water is available at the Community Center for anyone who needs it. The city is reminding people this is about how much water it has, not the quality of the water.
Thursday morning update: The city of Mitchellville is recommending that water conservation efforts continue Thursday. In a Facebook post around 9:30 a.m., officials reminded residents that the water was still safe, but they needed to continue to limit use following a mechanical problem that created a strain on the city’s water supply.
An answer to Mitchellville’s request for people living and working in town to conserve water rolled into town Wednesday afternoon.
The Hy-Vee semi-truck came to town with a major donation aimed at easing the city’s water strain. The truck delivered a trailer full of bottled water — about 46,000 pounds of drinking water — for residents, with supplies staged at the community center so people could pick up their water easily.
Organizers said the goal is broad access. “We want to make sure that we can get it out to all the people,” said Nedra Hoover, the community center’s secretary.
Hoover said the bottled water does more than help families stay stocked — it also supports the city’s conservation effort.
She said the more residents rely on bottled water, the fewer times they need to turn on the tap, reducing demand on the system.
“If we can do anything to help out our wells and our water tower, it’s great to be able to donate some water for us,” Hoover said.
City officials say the conservation request stems from a mechanical problem, not a safety issue, and called it a quantity issue, not a quality issue.
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Mitchellville said the pump on Well 3 failed Tuesday evening and that staff coordinated emergency pump service and adjusted operations while repairs are pending.
Mitchellville Elementary was closed on Wednesday and is again on Thursday, a move city officials requested “to help reduce overall system demand.”
The water conservation notice remains in effect. We are also recommending that school be closed tomorrow to help reduce overall system demand.
The city emphasized that residents’ water remains safe, saying there is “no issue with the quality of water being distributed” and that the challenge is “mechanical and production capacity,” not contamination.
One resident said she hopes the fix ends the community’s water worries; otherwise, she favors a long-term solution. “Hook us up with some good water” from Des Moines, said Beverly Pearson.