Water Crisis Eases in Ottumwa, Iowa

A week of rain culminated in sewage leaking into the basement of the Ottumwa Water and Hydro Purification Plant late Thursday and early Friday (August 24 and 25, 2007). Not even the massive floods of 1993 - which overwhelmed Des Moines' water treatment plant - had this effect in Ottumwa.

The plant had to be sanitized and pumps sent to Cedar Rapids for cleaning, meaning no water could be added to the city water supply for several days. Mayor Dale Uehling credited the plant's general manager, Richard Wilcox, with quick thinking Thursday evening and Friday.

Wilcox asked the fire department to pump water into hydrants, which maintained the water pressure. While pressure was less than normal, water did come out of most taps, which meant that the system will not need to be repressurized when the pumps are back in operation. Had this happened, it would take five long days to get the system back on line.

What does a city of 26,000 do when its water treatment plant goes off line? Though no contaminated water was believed to have entered the water supply, citizens have been under a boil order since early Friday, and were asked not to take showers, do laundry, or otherwise tax the water supply. On Friday the city ordered all bars and restaurants closed, but by Saturday they were allowed to open. However, on Saturday, coffee was available in the Hy-Vee cafeteria, but soft-drink fountains were still not available.

Major employers, such as John Deere Ottumwa Works, Cargill Meat Solutions, and American Bottling, closed operations Friday and Saturday - though American Bottling immediately joined efforts to distribute bottled water. When the city asked residents to conserve water, one resident, in Wal-Mart to purchase clean-up supplies in the early hours of Friday morning, reported a run on water. The same resident - one of many with a wet basement - returned to buy a wet-dry vacuum a few hours later and saw three Wal-Mart trucks pull into the lot. Each was loaded with bottled water.