Atchison asking people to limit water use due to ice jam in the Missouri River

ATCHISON, Kan. -- The City of Atchison, Kansas is asking people to limit water usage temporarily.

The city said it became aware of an ice jam in the Missouri River on Tuesday that was moving in the direction of the city over the next few days.

The ice jam coming from Nebraska is causing the river to back up and the city said it anticipates it will experience another one-and-a-half-foot drop in the river over the next two days.

"The rivers have reached a low level making us unable to run our permanent intake pumps at the river," the city said. "We are relying solely on the auxiliary intake pump to pull water from the river until the river levels are restored after the ice jam passes."

The city said the culmination of the ice jam, extreme cold temperatures, extremely low river level and the reliance on the auxiliary intake pump at the river creates a "perfect storm" potential for a critical situation.