HAMILTON, Ala. (WIAT) -- Hamilton Mayor Bob Page said the city's water system is more than prepared to brace for the freezing temperatures ahead, but he said the city is staying proactive.
"We've done lots of work since last winter on our production plant that supplies all of us water," Page said.
Page said that work includes installing new flocculators at the water treatment plant and repairing on the vacuum system to clean the vents among other things. Those actions were taken in hopes of preventing the city from losing water as a result of a water line break from freezing temperatures like previous years.
"We actually went through about 12 days with some of our folks unserved," Page said. "Fortunately, some of our people were never without water but majority were."
Because of this, water distribution sites were in place for Hamilton residents without clean water access as truckloads of water bottles were donated to the city as its water system recovered.
An experienced Hamilton resident, Kaleb Carroll said he remembers it all too well.
"It was rough," Carroll said. "All the water at the stores were bought out and everything and people were having trouble getting water for a couple of days."
In hopes of preventing a similar experience, the city's water department released a statement urging customers to be aware of possible issues the weather could bring, especially for abandoned houses where the water is still connected.
"We have been proactive in taking as many measures as possible to prevent major issues from happening," the water department stated. "We are asking customers to do their part. We certainly hope and pray that there are no issues during this time, and we're as prepared as possible."
With steps taken, Carroll said he feels at ease about with freezing temperatures ahead.
"I feel like they should have put a lot better systems in place to deal with it," Carroll said. "So we're hopeful."