Another Worry For Cape Residents Without Power?

BARNSTABLE, MA — While blizzard-related power outages keep Cape residents in the dark and cold, they may face another problem: water.

Without electricity, it can be difficult to pump H2O to people who need it.

Barnstable officials said Wednesday afternoon, “As widespread power outages continue to impact our community, please be aware that our water suppliers are facing the same situation. As a result, residents are encouraged to limit nonessential water use where possible.”

Simple steps, such as postponing laundry and limiting long showers, can help reduce strain on local systems, according to a town statement. It said the measures aren’t a formal restriction, but encouraged residents to conserve water so there was enough of it for fire protection and other services.

Water was also on the minds of Falmouth officials. That town said Wednesday afternoon it doesn’t anticipate any interruption in supply, after securing a generator to keep the local water treatment plant going “for the duration of this power outage.”

But it’s not clear how much longer the outage will last. The electric utility for most of the Cape, Eversource, has said it expects to have restored service throughout the region by late Friday night – although some customers will be getting it back sooner.

The restoration process is slow and difficult, however.

At 2 p.m. Wednesday, the number of outages in Barnstable stood at 19,400, down from the 22,000 reported earlier in the day. In Falmouth, the number was 17,400, also reduced from an earlier total.

Those numbers mean roughly two-thirds of the homes and businesses in both towns are still without electricity.