FEDERALSBURG, MD. - A power outage at the Federalsburg Water and Sewer Plant on Friday afternoon has led to an extensive water shortage, impacting hundreds of residents for days. Town leaders expressed the power outage shut off emergency alerts systems so officials were unaware of the situation until Sunday morning.
The town of Federalsburg revealed in a post on Facebook saying, "This means that the staff were not notified that there was a problem until this morning [Sunday] when the water pressure had been depleted in the system. One entire water tower was emptied, as well as the miles of lines that feed the entire town. Once the problem was realized all systems were restored. And staff began to flush hydrants and bleed lines to move the air along."
Though the water systems are now operational, persistent issues such as air trapped in the pipes causing water pressure problems continue to pose challenges.
Residents, caught off guard, faced difficulties in their daily routines with limited access to water. Holly Caccavale, a resident, recounted her experience, saying, "Yesterday morning about 7:30 when I got up and went to the bathroom and flushed the toilet and it went down but didn't come back. So then I went to the sink, and I tried the sink, and I had no water."
Despite efforts to address the situation, Town Manager Kristy Marshall acknowledged that more actions were necessary. "We thought we had the problem under control and fixed, and it was improving slowly, but it wasn't improving enough. We called some experts in this morning to assist," Marshall said.
By noon on Monday, volunteers at the local volunteer fire company were distributing water to residents. Stacks of jugs and cases were loaded into people's cars, ensuring those still without basic necessities had access to water.
Belinda Sparks, a resident, highlighted the challenges faced during the water shortage, stating, "You cannot wash your clothes right now due to the lack of water. You can barely wash your hands with the pressure so low coming out. This is terrible."
In response to the crisis, Federalsburg officials announced the temporary closure of restaurants and schools Monday.
The town has already implemented new policies and plans to convene a team meeting to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future.
Looking ahead, residents emphasized the need for proactive measures. Doris Armstrong emphasized the importance of town meetings to address potential issues and develop solutions, stating, "We need to have town meetings about little things that come up and what can we do about it, you know, to help so this problem doesn't come up anymore."
As the town grapples with the aftermath of the water outage, residents are hopeful for a swift resolution to ensure a consistent and reliable water supply in the future. The town says they hope everything will be back to normal by Wednesday.