Marion mayor warns restored water system may not hold, says city must make plan for renovated system

After a weekend shutdown, Marion’s water system is back online following emergency repairs that city officials say highlight both the fragility of aging infrastructure and the urgency of long-term investment. 

Mayor Dexter Hinton confirmed that services were restored late Sunday night after crews worked through the weekend to repair a failed pump. “We put out a 24-hour turnaround estimate and actually beat it by two or three hours,” Hinton said. “By five o’clock Monday morning, residents had water again.” 

The water restoration was not through connection to Perry County’s water system, which was offered over the weekend. Hinton clarified that while the city and county did attempt a hookup, the effort stalled after six hours. 

Ultimately, Marion restored service independently by repairing its pump. “The city did work with the county, but it didn’t transpire in the timeframe needed to supply customers,” Hinton explained. “We’re still working toward redundancy, but in this case, our crews got the system back up.” 

The repair required heavy equipment, including a crane to remove and reinstall the pump through the roof of the facility. Hinton noted there was a great expense to cut and repair the roof to complete the job. 

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While service is stabilized, Hinton acknowledged the system’s aging pipes remain a concern. “We’re not going to stop until we have a renovated water system,” he said. “It’s not going to happen overnight, but we’ll gradually work at it.” 

He added that rate increases may be necessary to sustain improvements, despite resistance from some council members.  

A special emergency meeting of The Marion City Council was called for Monday night but only one council member came, which was not enough to vote. The emergency council meeting was intended to pass a resolution allowing Marion to respond more quickly to crises, similar to how FEMA supports disaster recovery. Hinton said the council will try to meet on another day.

Hinton said the outage should serve as a wake-up call. “We have meetings all the time discussing the importance of our water system, and it can’t be taken lightly,” he said. “This situation shows why we need to move forward.”