KEMP — This small town on the shore of Cedar Creek Reservoir ran out of water on Sunday.
"No water. No water. Zero water," said Kemp Mayor Donald Kile. "We’re in pretty bad shape, to be honest with you."
As the temperature surged into the triple digits for the 37th consecutive day, the mayor decided Sunday to shut down the municipal water system at 4 p.m. Repairs have been made on the system and the city's water levels are slowly returning to normal.
Kile said the city expects to have water running freely from faucets by 4 p.m. Tuesday. After that, residents will still need to boil their drinking water for an unknown duration.
With no running water, almost every business in Kemp is shutdown. Restaurants, car washes and daycare centers are losing profits. Employees are going without pay.
Mayor Kile said people are coming in droves to the Kemp City Hall, where they can fill up on one to two cases of free drinking water at a time. Also available is water needed for things like flushing toilets and dishwashing. The mayor encourages everyone in need of anything but bottled water to bring a five-gallon container to be sure they get what they need.
Kile said businesses across the area have donated water to keep his community hydrated. Walmart, Sonic, Brookshires at 7-Points and the city of Fort Worth have all made contributions today.
Mom Lisa Teeter showed up this morning, grateful to be heading to work, where there's running water so she can shower.
As she loaded up on drinking water, she told News 8 she's grateful there's also water available so she can nourish her horse back home. She said they've been going without, too.
The near-record heat wave led to heavy water demand that taxed the town's aging infrastructure. Mayor Kile said there have been 14 breaks in the town's pipeline in the last two and a half weeks due to the extremely dry conditions.
Water shortages are becoming all too common for many in Kemp. Last summer, the town shut off the water for three days for similar reasons.
Kemp pumps in untreated water from nearby Cedar Creek Lake and purifies it in a 40-year-old treatment plant. Much of the town’s 30 miles of pipeline date to the 1930s and haven't been updated in decades.
"It's sad to say, but it's poor planning," said Kile, who was elected mayor recently. "When they put that water treatment plant in, they should have implemented something then... it just wasn't ever done."
The town recently began its first pipeline repair project in years. It's spending $350,000 to replace 4,000 feet of pipe.
City leaders concede that much more work is needed.
Clyde Scott got a few cases of bottled water, but he needs hundreds of more gallons for his ranch. With his ponds dry, he relies on city water for his family and his 31 horses.
"They told me they can't fill me up with water," the rancher said. He bought several water tanks hoping to stock up. "I've got seven kids... we can't be without water!"
E-mail jbetz@wfaa.com and cvega@wfaa.com
