Hundreds of thousands of Bogota residents are still without potable water on Thursday morning after damage to the Colombian capital’s water network, national media has reported.
Damage to a sluice at a treatment plant on Wednesday left over half of Bogota’s residents without potable water, and forced the Ministry of Education to cancel school on Thursday, reported El Espectador.
After a day of work, the Bogota water authority has restored services to 80% of residents as of 10am Thursday,
By 2am Thursday morning, service was restored to the city center. Some outlying towns are expected to have water by noon, and others later in the day.
In the process of restoration, water pressure will only normalize gradually, especially in the more remote areas of Bogotá.
Meanwhile, newly re-installed Mayor Gustavo Petro asked residents to conserve water until damages have been completely repaired.
MORE: Santos reinstates Bogota mayor, ending months of judicial chaos
“As we overcome the damage, it is important that citizens save water consumption and use only what is essential today,” the mayor wrote in his Twitter account, posting from the Calera Francisco Wiesner treatment plant (east of Colombia’s capital).
Mientras superamos los daños, es importante que la ciudadanía ahorre el consumo de agua y solo utilice en lo indispensable en el día de hoy
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) abril 24, 2014
This was Gustavo Petro’s first act since being reinstated yesterday by President Juan Manuel Santos after a five-month legal and political battle, wire service EFE reported.