Law enforcement seeks information about Lynnville water supply disruptions

Lynnville residents were asked to limit their water usage this past week after the small town’s water supply was tampered with. While officials say the condition of the water was unaffected and safe to consume, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office said it has opened an investigation into the incident.

At approximately 1:30 pm. June 25, the sheriff’s office was contacted by the City of Lynnville reporting the incident. Residents who have signed up for Jasper County alerts were notified of the water supply issue via phone calls and text messages. The source of the tampering is unknown.

Anyone with information about the water supply incident is encouraged to contact the sheriff’s office at 641-792-5912.

During the water shortage, Lynnville was supplied bottled water from Safeguard Iowa and Hy-Vee. Jasper County Emergency Management and the sheriff’s office distributed the bottled water. Fire departments from Kellogg, Sully and Searsboro were placed on emergency standby in case any fires were reported.

Jamey Robinson, executive director of Jasper County Emergency Management, told Newton News that three pallets of water bottles were acquired for the city. He noted it took roughly 12 hours for authorities to troubleshoot the problem. Sheriff Brad Shutts said the water supply mechanisms had been tampered with.

“So the water wasn’t filling into the water tower,” Shutts said. “…Which isn’t good, especially when there is a possibility of structure fires and other things that require water from the city. Tampering with any sort of public water is a federal offense. There are also some state codes that could apply.”

Holding the person or persons accountable is important to Shutts. Regardless if it was supposed to be a prank or not, the sheriff said there are consequences to our actions. Severely limiting or ridding a community of its water supply could have devastating effects.

Robinson agreed. While other community agencies were on standby with water trucks to assist the city if any structure fires were to occur, they would still have to mobilize and traveling a longer distance to respond. Without water, it is likely the local daycare would have to temporarily pause its operations.

“Simple things like showers or maybe you use water for your infant formula or — God forbid — we had a structure fire or something,” Robinson said. “We try to cover all the worst case scenarios. It’s going to take time for tankers to get to fires. That lack of water could really mean the difference between life and death.”