Last week, while Grenada County faced a historic freeze and experienced all-time lows in temperatures, officials with the Grenada Water Department kept their fingers crossed in hopes of surviving the ice storm without any major infrastructure issues.
“I have to say that we were very fortunate to get out of this thing,” Water Superintendent Mark Tilghman said last weekend. “We had some problems with frozen pipes and low pressure in some spots, but that was to be expected. We got down to 10 degrees at one point.”
Throughout the state, many cities did experience water problems ranging from pressure loss to even total water loss. In Jackson, the Governor’s Mansion went without water for a period of time, while counties closer to Grenada such as western Carroll County, portions of Tallahatchie County and Webster County also experienced various water issues. Tilghman said his team closely monitored the situation through the extreme weather condition.
Mid-week, rumors of the lack of water wells on the city’s systems began circulating. However, officials confirmed that all lines continued to work properly.
Tilghman also confirmed that during the frigid temperatures and inclement weather, there were no water main breaks on the city’s system. He added that while the snow and ice was on the ground, the water department’s response time was slow.
This week, Tilghman said crew will continue to seal holes caused by snow and ice. He said one of the issues that the water department faces, however, is thawing ice.
“It’s now starting to thaw out there and that can cause problems with any system,” Tilghman concluded. “It’s extra stress on the system and that can cause low water pressure.”
