PINE BLUFF, Ark. — Low water pressure to homes in Pine Bluff had social media stirring late Thursday evening. Several posts were saying water would be shut off.

Liberty Utility provides water for Pine Bluff and it said it saw a 50-percent increase in water usage.

The water provider said that the rumors were not true, but that the media stirring is causing excess strain on the system. The rumors were advising people to fill up bathtubs and take showers immediately.

The problem was coming from panic filling, possible undetected leaks in the system, people keeping their pipes safe by dripping water and a pipe malfunction in one of their plants has also hampered the water pressure.

The rumors were saying water service was going to be shut off, Liberty says there are no plans to interrupt service, and if there are interruptions they will be very limited and only to repair potential pipe leaks.

“We’re not shutting off water to our Pine Bluff customers, we want them to know that.  It’s really to avoid a situation like that, if our customers can conserve and we can continue to look for the reasons that are causing that pressure to drop and that demand to increase, we can avoid that situation,” said Kelli Price Sr. Marketing Manager at Liberty Utilities.

Liberty Utility encourages its customers to continue pipe safety by only allowing a trickle of water through those faucets, it is also asking customers to be on the lookout for any water flowing where it should not be such as abandoned homes or buildings and to call their emergency line at 1-855-382-6511.