FERRIDAY — Despite recent rains, Concordia Waterworks District No. 1 could still run out of water at any time, district officials said at a waterworks board meeting Tuesday night.

Between customers’ water usage and frequent line leaks due to shifting, dry ground, the system’s water demand was 1.15 million gallons two weeks ago.

Demand went down to 950,000 gallons after last week’s rains, but that is still higher than the 900,000 gallons a day the system’s 8,000-plus customers were using just four months ago.

That is despite the fact that since Aug. 22, the system has posted notices in local newspapers asking customers to stop watering their lawns and gardens, washing their vehicles and filling their pools until further notice.

&uot;And it will be this way until we make it mandatory (to limit usage) and start cutting some people’s water off,&uot;&160;said board member Johnny Morgan. However, the board approved no such enforcement actions at Tuesday’s meeting.

To make matters worse, district employees are still fixing water leaks from the early morning hours to late at night, said Manager Charles Renfrow.

One of the district’s two wells even stopped working Tuesday, although it was back online Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, the district has built a new plant near Lake St. John using $2,557,000 in bonds, a $1,294,000 grant and a $482,000 loan.

But fixing numerous leaks along a transmission line running from the plant — a problem thought to be caused by loose gaskets — has taken weeks.

And the new plant has another unique problem — since the water the new plant is getting from the Lake St. John aquifer has no iron or manganese in it, it is difficult to get natural color out of the water.

&uot;That is because these chemicals … have nothing to attach to,&uot;&160;said Keith Capdepon of Bryant Hammett & Associates, the district’s engineering firm.

Therefore, Capdepon, Renfrow and others associated with the system have been working for several days, and are still working, to get the right mix of chemicals in the water to correct the discoloration.

Neither the chemicals, which are government-approved, nor the discoloration cause any ill health effects. &uot;In fact, the chemicals wouldn’t be noticeable at all,&uot; Capdepon said.