After three long days, water service has been restored in the city of Ferris, although the water is unsafe to drink and a $1,000 reward has been offered to find the person who may be responsible for the draining of a municipal water tower.
According to Tommy Scott, the acting mayor of Ferris, as many as 300,000 gallons of water were drained out of a fire hydrant connected to a water tower located behind Ferris Intermediate School. The problem was discovered this past Saturday morning once reports started coming in that people were without water.
"It takes time to replace all that," Scott said, exasperated after days spent fielding complaints and concerns from residents.
The lack of water forced the Ferris Independent School District to cancel classes at every school on both Monday and Tuesday. Once water service was restored on Tuesday, the Ferris ISD made the announcement that classes would resume on Wednesday for the elementary schools in the district. But both secondary campuses – Ferris Junior High and Ferris High School – would remain closed on Wednesday, according to a statement from the district.
Although water service was restored on Tuesday, a boil water advisory was put into effect until further notice.
Ferris is located about 20 miles south of Dallas along Interstate 45.
