Georgetown is letting the water run out of a water tower because of a nearby sinkhole.
City workers say they don't see any problem with the tower, but they're going to let some of the water run out just to be safe.
Asst. Fire Chief Bill Johnson said for the past several weeks, engineers have been measuring the water tower regularly to see if it has leaned due to settling of the ground around it, but they haven't seen any movement. However, he said the tower holds about 2 million pounds of water and engineers were concerned about its weight, so they decided to drain it as a precaution.
Johnson said the tower accounts for about one-twelfth of the city's total water capacity, so draining it shouldn't affect water pressure or availability for customers.
A building on Highway 17 in downtown Georgetown collapsed into the sinkhole Thursday night.
State and local leaders are trying to figure out what caused the problem.
