Residents in Newport experienced a disruption in their water service yesterday morning due to significant damage to a major water line near the local water plant. Newport Utilities (NU) responded swiftly, and by early afternoon, service had been restored to the community. In a social media update, NU informed customers that the damage resulted from construction activities unrelated to their operations. "We are aware of various water outages occurring in our service area. There was major water line damage near the water plant, caused by construction unaffiliated with NU. We have crews on the scene and are working to quickly resolve the issue," the utility company communicated through Facebook, as reported by WVLT8.
In response to the water line break, Cocke County and Newport Grammar Schools decided to dismiss their students early to help ease the demand on the compromised water system. Schools concluded their day at 12:30 p.m., with kindergarten and pre-K programs ending even earlier, at noon, as announced by WBIR.
Following the restoration of water services, Newport Utilities advised customers they may encounter discolored or murky water due to the necessity of line flushing efforts that continued into the evening. Despite the possible discoloration, the utility company reassured the public that the water was safe for consumption. Customers were also asked to voluntarily reduce water use where feasible during the recovery period. This advisory was further elaborated upon in a statement obtained by Newport Plain Talk.
