FLORENCE — A water pressure issue at Florence-Carlton Public Schools on Thursday has since been resolved, but the situation raised concerns about sanitation.
A software malfunction during Florence-Carlton's homecoming week caused water pressure to fail late Thursday morning.
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“I showed up to school for the parade that we had this year that was on foot because of the events last year, and my boyfriend, he was like, 'Oh yeah, the water's out,' and I was like, 'Oh, it is,'" Alex Nelson, a senior at Florence-Carlton, said.
The lack of water sparked concern specifically around a science class dissection and the clean-up protocols for students, just ahead of their lunch hour.
Sanitizer and bottled water were made available to students. Some were pointed to porta-potty options while access to school restrooms remained available.
“My friend mentioned not being able to flush the toilet, and she didn't really know what to do, so she just kind of left," Nelson said.
The school worked with ATS Inland NW, a company that provides building automation and energy management, to resolve the software glitch that was failing to maintain consistent water pressure.
They also sent a text to parents Thursday afternoon stating: "Please be aware that there is no water at FCS K-12. We are dismissing regular time, but if you are able to get your child, it is encouraged."
“We came back to school and I was leaving for the volleyball game, but then as I was walking into the elementary office, there was a line of parents picking up kids because of the concern with no water," Nelson said.
Porta-potties were also put in place ahead of the afterschool volleyball matches in case of need. But an announcement came out during those matches that the issue had been resolved.
"During our JV game they announced that we had water back," Nelson added.
School officials told MTN the problem stemmed from a software issue, not a pump or water shortage issue. Superintendent Todd Fiske sent an email update Friday to parents explaining the situation:
Dear Florence Parents,
I am writing to provide an update regarding yesterday’s water issue.
Late yesterday morning, we discovered a software malfunction that was failing to maintain consistent water pressure, causing the water system to repeatedly shut off and turn on. To properly diagnose and fix the issue, the system had to be temporarily shut down. The problem has since been resolved, and normal water pressure was restored shortly after dismissal.
During the outage, bottled water was provided in each main office, and restroom facilities remained operational. We made the decision to remain open for the remainder of the school day to maintain a safe, supervised environment and keep student dismissal on schedule.
We are actively investigating why this software glitch occurred to ensure it does not happen again. As always, please feel free to reach out to your building principal if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you,
Mr. Fiske
Superintendent
School officials also told MTN that previous periods with no water at Florence-Carlton have been linked to power outages, but this instance was unique.
Since the issue was resolved, Friday's homecoming celebrations were not impacted.
