Frozen water lines on the side of Lookout Mountain cut off or limited water service for more than 3,700 customers of Tennessee American Water Co. in Lookout Valley and St. Elmo areas for most of the day Tuesday, forcing some businesses and schools to close.
Daphne Kirksey, manager of external affairs for the privately owned water company, said the sub-freezing temperatures for most of the past week created a number of problems with frozen pipes and valves, including two main breaks serving the company's pump station on the side of Lookout Mountain.
"When temperatures swing widely from freezing to warmer in a short period of time, additional main breaks are anticipated," Kirksey said Tuesday in an email. "Customers in the impacted area (in Lookout Valley and St. Elmo) may be experiencing low to no water pressure. We are working safely and as quickly as possible to complete the repairs which we anticipate being completed early this evening."
The water main break forced the early closing of Lookout Valley Middle High and Lookout Valley Elementary schools Tuesday morning in what school officials had hoped would be the first full day of school since Jan. 12, according to Hamilton County Schools spokesperson Steve Doremus.
Many restaurants and businesses in the area also had to close while others struggled to stay open with limited water service.
"We don't have any water at all, so we can't do anything, and we had to send our lunch crew home today," Chad Danner, manager of the Logan's Steakhouse at 3592 Cummings Highway, said in a telephone interview. "We're hoping we can open again tonight, but we're still waiting."
The nearby La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham hotel was also without normal water supplies Tuesday, but the hotel managed to use what water it had in storage to clean the rooms its rented overnight and stay open.
"We don't have water right now, but we are open," Patel Umesh, a hotel manager, said in a telephone interview. "We're doing the best we can."
The water outage Tuesday was one of the biggest for Tennessee American Water since a water main break near near its plant on Wiehl Street in 2019 left more than 35,000 customers with low or no water service.
Even after the water problem is repaired, Kirksey said it will take additional time for water service to be completely restored and the water lines cleared for drinking water.
"Once repaired, it will take additional time for water service to be completely restored as we will need to turn valves back on, run fire hydrants to relieve air that has built up and refill the impacted water tanks," Kirksey said. "We appreciate customers' patience as we work to resolve the issue.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6340.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Wearing a mask, the Tennessee American Water Co. mascot Phillip D. Glass greets traffic along Riverside Drive in 2020.