AVOCA, Iowa (KMTV) — Regional Water provides water to small towns and rural residents throughout Southwest Iowa. About 25,000 customers across five countries are under a red-leve advisory which means they are required to conserve water. It's also recommended customers boil their tap water.
WATCH KATRINA'S STORY HERE
- The water crisis has made it tough for business owners in Avoca to survive. Andrea Radd, the owner of Raddberry's bakery, told KMTV she didn't make enough money to cover payroll this week. Something she says never happens.
- “Basically, we went from never getting a chance for us to stop to have lunch, take a break or anything like that; lines out the door, phone ringing – that's going off too – this is normally packed to this. There's nobody here," Radd said.
- A pipeline connecting to Council Bluffs water is in the ground. Regional Water now estimates that it will begin pumping from Council Bluffs by the end of the week.
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BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Southwest Iowa neighbors in a five-county area will still be under a boil order for at least another week and — in the meantime — businesses, like Raddberry's Bakery here in Avoca, are suffering.
I'm Southwest Iowa Neighborhood Reporter Katrina Markel.
And usually at lunchtime here at Raddberry's, this place is packed.
In this part of Iowa, well water levels are low, which increases bacteria counts, forcing the boil order.
Katrina: “You’ve talked to other business owners on this street. What are they saying to you?”
Andrea: “They’re all freaking out.”
Here's the impact: Few customers are visiting Raddberry's for lunch or pastries.
Owner Andrea Radd thinks some of her regulars are staying with relatives out of town or just staying away.
“Basically, we went from never getting a chance for us to stop to have lunch, take a break or anything like that; lines out the door, phone ringing — that's going off too — this is normally packed to this. There's nobody here," Radd said.
The local water company is named Regional Water. It says conservation efforts are improving the water levels.
General Manager Tom Kallman says, “We see the light at the end of the tunnel. We’re pretty sure it’s not a train coming to run us over.”
The light at the end of that tunnel: a pipeline connecting to Council Bluffs water is in the ground.
Kallman told me pressure tests revealed a manufacturing flaw, pushing back the estimated date to start pumping from this week to the end of next.
“The timing is working out to where it is likely that the boil order will lift about the same time the water starts flowing from Council Bluffs,” said Kallman.
The Regional Water office in Avoca still has bottled water available for customers if anyone is in need.
