SHADY COVE, Ore. – The entire city of Shady Cove is now under a state of emergency due to a lack of water.
At a meeting Thursday, the city declared a state of emergency allowing the county’s emergency operations center to provide support if needed.
Mayor Jon Ball says the city is taking action now and collaborating with Hiland Water to ensure the safety of hundreds of citizens without drinking water.
On the city’s website, it says a possible estimated restoration scheduled for 9 p.m. Wednesday never happened.
Residents who rely on wells are posting on social media forums offering their neighbors drinking and non-potable water.
With the state of emergency, residents and businesses will need to wait a lot longer than they anticipated, with some questioning why it wasn’t declared earlier.
Shady Cove resident Tom Francis said, “it should’ve been addressed as an emergency issue the second day. You can’t have all these people around here with all of our animals, all of the kids, all of your plants, you can’t do anything without water. You can’t do laundry, you can’t do dishes, you can’t take care of your animals. I give my animals water before I get water. So, that’s what we do.”
Hiland Water usually calls for a 100-gallon per minute pump to meet demand. The temporary pump only supplies 70-gallons per minute.
Drinkable water for residents can be found at the Jackson County Fire District Four station.
Water pick-up is available from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.
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