Montgomery County Public Utilities is conducting maintenance and repairs on a section of the water system in the southeastern area of the county. The work, which began today, is expected to last between four and five hours. Customers from the northern part of Candor to Troy Candor Road and down to Windblow will be affected by this interruption.
Once service resumes, a precautionary boil water advisory will be in effect for all customers in these areas. According to Montgomery County Public Utilities, “Outages and periods of low pressure increase the potential for back-siphoning and the introduction of bacteria into the water system. Therefore, the North Carolina Division of Water Resources advises that when water is restored, consumers should boil all water used for human consumption (including drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, making ice, and food preparation) or use bottled water. Vigorous boiling for 1 minute should kill any disease-causing organisms that may be present.”
The utility stated it is monitoring the situation and will update or lift the advisory as needed. “Montgomery County Public Utilities is monitoring the water system and will lift or revise this advisory as necessary. This advisory is a precautionary measure and will be lifted after water service and quality are fully restored and water quality tests verify the safety of the water supply,” officials said.
Customers may notice discoloration or air in their water following restoration. The utility noted these issues are common after interruptions but do not pose health risks. Flushing home plumbing by running a faucet can help clear lines.
This maintenance comes at a time when local schools are facing academic challenges. In recent data from Montgomery County school districts, only 15.9% of senior students who took the reading portion of the ACT during the 2022-23 school year were considered ready for college (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/). Other ACT subject areas also showed low readiness rates among juniors: 9.8% in science (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/), 25.1% in reading (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/), 12.2% in math (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/), and 26.3% in English (https://www.dpi.nc.gov/).
Montgomery County Public Utilities emphasized: “Again, Montgomery County Public Utilities is completing necessary maintenance and repairs today to water lines in the Southeastern part of the county and is announcing a precautionary boil water advisory to all county customers from the Northern part of Candor to Troy Candor Road and the community of Windblow.”
