Computer Glitch Leads to Bartlett Water Outage

BARTLETT, Tenn. - Two water towers in Bartlett were empty Monday creating concern for part of the city. Officials said there's usually an alert system for when water inside those towers gets low but there was no warning this time.

One tower sits off Woodlawn near Bartlett High school. The other tower near Elmore Park and North Hampton. Officials say both went dry after a computer glitch.

A spokesperson with Bartlett's Police department, where water calls were routed because of the Labor Day holiday, said two water towers ran out of water around 9:30 Monday morning.

"This is the first time anything has ever happened with the water, I was really shocked."

Dawn Polk said she and her family had plans to barbeque but water trouble in Bartlett really put a damper on things.

"We didn't know what it was, especially being a holiday," said Polk.

She said they had plenty of water at her home on Craigmont Drive until about 11:00 am, then nothing. She realized there was a bigger problem when family members down the street called.

"They had no water either. I don't know if this street was hit the hardest because we're on the very far end of Bartlett."

At Carestone Assisted Living at Kirby Whitten and Yale, the water never went out but pressure was a problem.

"My med supervisor called me this morning and said the water pressure was low," said Terry Force.

Luckily, with more than 80 elderly residents and one manager on duty, Force said the inconvenience didn't last long.

"About an hour, an hour and 15 minutes."

Officials say the towers went dry because a power surge knocked out an alerting system that monitors their water level. Both towers were re-filled again by noon.

People living in the Altruria Road area, west to the city limits, were the ones impacted.

Polk said her water returned, only her pressure stayed low throughout the afternoon and wasn't running completely clean.

"The bottled water company loves me. I bought a lot of bottled water which I don't normally do," said Polk.

FOX13 stopped by Fire Station Number One which sits in the area affected by the water problems Monday. A lieutenant on duty said they were notified and prepared but no fires were reported.