Pikeville issues water restrictions due to critically low supply
Ongoing dryness across Southeast Tennessee is taking a toll on water supplies in Bledsoe County, where officials in Pikeville, Tennessee, have issued mandatory water restrictions.
Due to a critically low water supply, residents who get their water from Pikeville’s water utility are prohibited from unnecessary use, including outdoor watering, car washing and other “nonessential” uses, according to a city statement posted on its social media page.
Compliance is required to protect the existing water supply, the city said.
The Pikeville Water Department supplies water to more than 1,600 customers, or about 4,581 people including residents and wholesale customers, according to the utility’s website. Drinking water comes from wells throughout the Sequatchie Valley and is then processed at the plant in Pikeville.
After Tennessee’s drought in 2016, Pikeville leaders approved a drought management plan in 2017, passed down to the municipality from the state, providing for conservation actions based on local water table levels, according to newspaper archives.
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The National Weather Service is calling for minimal chances of rain in Pikeville in the coming days, with a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms Friday and a 30% chance Saturday. A 20%-40% chance of showers and thunderstorms is forecast for Sunday, increasing to a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms Tuesday.
Contact Southeast Tennessee reporter Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.
Ben Benton is a news reporter at the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He covers Southeast Tennessee’s Bledsoe, Bradley, Franklin, Grundy, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Rhea and Sequatchie counties.
Ben has worked at the Times Free Press since November 2005. Ben was born and raised in Cleveland, Tennessee, a graduate of Bradley Central High School. He has a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.