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Quincy City warns of temporary low water pressure after water-plant pipe failure
Summary
A pipe at Quincy City’s water plant pulled apart in the afternoon, reducing pumping capacity to about 9 million gallons per day and prompting a request for voluntary outdoor water conservation to avoid low pressure for a few days. No boil order is known to be in effect; residents who lose service should contact the water plant.
Jeffrey Conte, director of public works for Quincy City, said a pipe at the municipal water plant “pulled apart” about 4:30 p.m., causing a loss of service and leaving distribution tanks low.
Conte said crews spent about four hours making emergency repairs. Because of the temporary repair configuration, the plant can pump roughly 9,000,000 gallons per day instead of its normal 12 million to 13 million gallons per day. Conte said current seasonal demand from lawn and garden watering is roughly 9,000,000 gallons per day.
“If we don't see a reduction [in] flow, we'll be running low pressure for a couple of days,” Conte said, and he asked residents to postpone outdoor watering where possible. He said normal household uses should not be affected.
Conte said he was not aware of any boil order at the time of his update. He added that parts of town had experienced low pressure; if a household has no water when it opens the tap, that household would be placed under a boil order and the water plant will sample at the address to confirm safety.
Residents who lose service or have questions can call the water plant at (217) 228-4590, Conte said.
The city did not specify an exact timetable for restoring full pumping capacity beyond the estimate that low pressure could last “a couple of days” if demand remains high. No formal vote or directive was recorded during the update.
