UPDATE: Utility crews making progress in Hazard, majority of Perry County Schools in-person Wednesday

State of Emergency declaration issued Monday, Jan. 31 for City of Hazard

UPDATE (2/1/22) – Utility crews in Hazard continue to work on water problems in the city. According to a post shared on social media by City of Hazard Utilities, “We made progress on filling three of the major tanks last night. We are working hard to get water flowing to other tanks.”

According to the post, “At this time, we have drinking water on the way and will be distributing this to sections of the county today. Below are the locations and times that have been organized so far.

PERRY COUNTY, Ky. (WTVQ) – Ongoing water issues in Perry County have led to school closures and an effort to conserve as much water as possible.

A state of emergency was declared on Monday, Jan. 31 for the City of Hazard.

According to Superintendent Jonathan Jett, “I have had discussions with county and city officials earlier today about the water issues throughout our community. We will have at least three schools without city water tomorrow and possibly more.”

Jett added, “As a result, I will have to cancel school for Perry County on Tuesday, February 1, 2022. This is an ongoing situation and I will be meeting with city and county officials every evening at 7:00 pm to make a determination on school throughout the week.”

According to the City of Hazard, extreme weather conditions and excessive use have led to outages in the entire service area.

According to a post by the City of Hazard Utilities, “If you still have water, please do not let your faucet run or drip to prevent freezing. We ask everyone that currently has water to please conserve as much as possible. All car washes and laundromats that are on the City water system have been notified to close immediately. We are working around the clock to get water back in the system.”