COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. (WTVR)--Imagine waking up and turning on the shower, only to have a small trickle come out.
Leaders in Colonial Heights were afraid that today the whole city could have run out of water.
And Colonial Heights was the only location forced to rely on water reserves.
When a stainless steel shaft was discovered broken from an underground water tank the Appomattox River Water Authority had to shut down operations to make the repair.
That forced the two cities and three counties that it supplies water to, to rely on their water storage tanks for the day.
"We had a chemical mixer shaft, stainless steel shaft, about four inches in diameter, break,” Bob Wichser, with the Appomattox River Water Authority, said.
"I was a little bit worried if we were going to be able to open today,” Brenda Thermos, who works at Captain Tom's Restaurant, said.
Hers wasn’t the only business concerned about the possibility of low water pressure or no water at all.
Lots of local businesses had to conserve out of fear they would tap out.
Even local fire departments made contingency plans just in case.
"We're prepared, contacted jurisdictions around us, Prince George and Chesterfield County, have tankers, fire department tankers, they're on standby if we need them,” said Colonial Heights Deputy Chief Dave Salot.
Repairs were completed around 3 p.m. Thursday. And the water authority brought everything back online. There were never any serious problems reported, fortunately.
