(KAIR)--The City of Atchison is calling on all of its water customers “to employ voluntary water conservation measures to limit water uses until further notice.”

That- according to a release issued Wednesday afternoon by the City, which says, due to river conditions, a lack of conservation “could result in complications impacting [the City-] ability to draw and store water and provide water service to Atchison residents, businesses, and agencies.”

The release, issued by Atchison City Manager Amy Finch, calls potential issues stemming from the Missouri River- current conditions “a perfect storm potential for a critical situation.”

The release explains that the City, on Tuesday, “became aware of an ice jam in the river moving [toward the City] over the next few days,” adding that the ice jam, making its way from Nebraska, “is causing the river to back up,” with the City anticipating another one-and-a-half-foot drop in river levels over the next 48 hours,” as of Wednesday afternoon. The drop, the release explains, “creates a unique and unprecedented situation with the convergence of several factors,” with the City currently “relying solely on the auxiliary intake pump to pull water from the river until river levels are restored after the ice jam passes.”

The current low river level has made it impossible for the City to use its permanent intake pump at the river, leading to use of the auxiliary intake pump.

Reliance on the backup pump, the release notes, “creates a fragile situation,” explaining that the combination of factors means the City- ability to produce water “at normal capacity is more vulnerable, or at risk, than normal,” leading to the call for voluntary water conservation.

Voluntary cooperation in conserving water, the release says, “will help [the City] mitigate the effect of the [current factors] that could result in complications impacting [the City-] ability to draw and store water and provide water service.”

That- due to “freezing temperatures potentially affecting the function of the auxiliary pump system, and extremely cold temperatures that may cause water main breaks,” with the approaching ice jam possibly meaning “complications which impact [the City-] ability to draw water from the river and/or maintain a maximum amount of water storage” for a three day supply.

The voluntary water conservation effort will stay in place until further notice.