East Texas Town’s Water Supply Vandalized

The City Manager of Clarksville City in Gregg County is calling the act a “Terrorist Threat on a Public Water System” after someone opened a fire hydrant overnight draining the system of more than 300,000 gallons of water, a 90 percent loss.

Billy Silvertooth is asking residents to conserve water and use it only for sanitation and cooking purposes, and no outside watering is allowed.

Silvertooth added the water pressure is stable, but the volume is very low. The town hopes to have the water system back to normal in the next two to three days.

The fire hydrant that was opened overnight is located in the 300 block of Whatley Rd.

Clarksville City is located on highway 80, just west of Longview in Gregg County.