Water leak leaves Eastern Kentucky town temporarily without water service
Schools in Martin County had to send students home early on Friday due to a leak in a transmission line near the county water treatment plant.
Water was expected to be out in the area of Inez, the county seat, for a few hours while crews worked to repair the leak in a main transmission line on Turkey Creek Road, the Martin County Water District said in an alert on its website Friday.
A boil water advisory, affecting about 1,250 customers, was issued because of the leak, the Mountain Citizen reported on Facebook. The county’s public elementary, middle and high schools all dismissed early on Friday, the newspaper reported. The county clerk’s office and public library also closed early Friday due to the leak.
Updates and other water-related advisories can be found on the water district’s website: https://mcub.myruralwater.com/
The troubled water district has dealt with leaks for years. In January 2018, nearly 10,000 residents went with no water service or had low pressure for nearly two weeks, prompting the county judge-executive at the time to declare a state of emergency.
Since 2020, a workgroup comprised of engineers, attorneys, concerned citizens and local and state officials has met quarterly to discuss the needs of the water district. In March 2022, the water district received over $400,000 from the state government to help with improvements and upgrades.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
This story was originally published November 4, 2022 at 3:31 PM.