Sikeston Board of Municipal Utilities

Due to inclement weather, City Hall will be closed today (Wednesday, February 10).

According to the National Weather Service forecast for our area, we will experience single digit temperatures and struggle to climb to the freezing mark. This forecast also shows we have an increased likelihood for a minor icing event from mid-week to the weekend. At this time we do not anticipate outages but with the bitter cold temperatures forecast this week, we are encouraging our customers to take some simple steps to prepare. Make sure your garage door and crawl sp...ace doors/vents are closed and that all of your hoses are removed from outdoor faucets, any water left in your pipes can freeze and burst and could cause water damage inside your home! Prepare for possible winter power outages by assembling an emergency kit with blankets, flashlights and extra batteries. Save BMU’s contact numbers on your phone to easily report an outage. (573) 471-3328 day and (573) 471-1181 nights/weekends. Keep pets indoors and be sure to check your car batteries after sitting out in the cold. If you have a generator, be sure it is properly connected before use and follow the manufacturer’s instructions and operate outdoors with good ventilation! BMU is not anticipating widespread power outages but our BMU crews are ready to respond if any issues arise. #BMUNeighborsServingNeighbors

Your assistance is needed to stop flushing items not meant to be flushed this can lead to rags (a sewer utility term for fibrous materials that doesn’t break down after being flushed down your plumbing). This can cause sewage backups, sewer overflows and they can damage BMU's wastewater treatment equipment and increase repair costs. You can help to prevent this damage to our wastewater system by avoiding flushing ANYTHING besides human waste and toilet paper. Portions of our wastewater treatment facility had to be shut down this week, while BMU crews were working to clean these materials out of our equipment putting us at risk for environment fines. Even though some products such as wipes and baby diapers claim to be flushable, they are NOT!

If you haven’t qualified for our budget billing program in the past and want to level out seasonal high and low bills give us a call at 573-471-3328, we are working to help more of our friends and neighbors qualify for these programs during these difficult times. http://www.sikestonbmu.org/budget-billing.php

UPDATE: as of noon, 01/05/2021 this repair has been completed, the precautionary 48-hour boil water advisory begins now. Tues, Jan 5, 2021 BMU crews will be replacing a fire hydrant on Baker Ln., this morning which will affect a few homes on Baker Ln., Peach Tree Ln. and a couple on Bel Aire Dr. Please use caution in this area as this repair is made. A precautionary boil advisory will begin upon completion of this hydrant replacement. Please give us a call at 573-471-3328 if you have any questions or concerns. #BMUCommunityPowered #NeighborsServingNeighbors

According to Energy.gov you can 5% to 15% a year on your heating bill by setting your thermostat back 10 to 15 for 8 hours at a time. During cold weather set your thermostat back as you comfortably can to keep the inside and outside temps a little closer, these few degrees you adjust your thermostat can help prevent a spike on your energy bill. Increases in your usage (Kilowatt hours used) is the reason for these increase you see on your bill. https://www.energy.gov//prog...ram-your-thermostat-fall-and-w Even if you don’t adjust your thermostat and leave it the same or are not home as much, your usage will still go up during the colder temps. Your furnace has to work harder just keep that same temp on your thermostat when the temperatures outside are colder. The BIGGER the difference in the outside temperature and the temp on your thermostat the higher your usage = bigger $ amounts on your bill. Our budget billing program can help take these high usage months (Dec, Jan, July, Aug) down to an average amount every month. Find more information here http://www.sikestonbmu.org/budget-billing.php We are always here to answer any questions you may have, please call our office at 471-3328 and we will do our best to help you to better understand your bill. #BMUKeepingYouConnected

Best wishes to each of you for a new year of happiness in a world of peace! Happy New Year! #BMUCommunityPowered

Sunday, December 27 UPDATE @ 11:20am - Power has been restored, the wind caused our outage this morning. We may still have a few individual outages to deal with. POWER OUTAGE @ 11am-We are aware of power outages along Helen St. and surrounding area. We are in route to make repairs. We have a phase out and will have to drop power to safely repair the damage.

Merry Christmas from BMU to you! #BMUCommunityPowered

May your home be filled with the joy of the Christmas season. We wish you a happy, healthy holiday season and a joyful new year! #BMUCommunityPowered

12/24/2020 7:30p - UPDATE: tests came back all clear the Boil Water Advisory has been lifted. Thank you for your patience. Have a Merry Christmas! 12/23/2020 1pm - UPDATE: Repair is complete, your water should be restored, be sure to boil water used for cooking or drinking until the 48-hours is up or until our tests come back all clear. Thanks for your patience during this repair! 12/23/2020 9:30 am -Water Main Break BMU crews are working to repair a water main break affecting the 800 block of Cambridge and the 900 block of Pine the water will be off until repairs are completed. Once the water is turned back on, impacted customers will be under a 48-hour precautionary boil water advisory and need to boil their water for one minute before drinking or cooking. #BMUCommunityPowered