Harrison Water Department aids neighbors

Posted Date: 11/07/2024

COO Engineer Wade Phillips posted on social media over the weekend of Oct. 27, “With several of our neighboring water utilities running out of water due to the service disruption at Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water, the City of Harrison is going to open up our water tank filling station located at 303 Watergate Road.”

Harrison assisted individuals, rural fire departments, contractors, and farmers without water.

Charlie Jones, operations manager of the water and sewer department, said,  “That weekend, we gave water away. We feel that we have an obligation to help other water facilities in need.”

The water department also filled a Valley Springs Fire Department tanker truck over the weekend so they could help distribute water as needed.

“We gave away 3,250 gallons of water to Valley Springs customers,” Jones said. 

“We have a water filling station at 303 Watergate Rd., and we sell water to individuals who need it Monday through Friday. This is something we do regularly.”

Jones said the city has been offering this service for as long as he can remember. Most of the individuals are not city water customers. Several businesses need large amounts of water for construction projects or farmers for their cattle. Some have 55-gallon barrels they fill, and some have 300-500-gallon tanks.

Jones also said that large facilities under construction have hydrant meters, so the construction crew can get water directly from the hydrant and not have to go to the water department. “There are backflow valves in place, so there is no risk of contamination.”