Update on August 14: The crisis appears to be over:
The Grand Prarie Police department says the main water supply line is fixed, tested, disinfected. Back to normal water use today.
— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) August 14, 2013
Update at 1:01 p.m.: Grand Prairie officials now say the might make it through the current crisis without losing water.
"We're not out of the woods yet," Ron McCuller, the city's public works director, told the Morning News.
Crews are ahead of schedule making repairs. The city is still urging residents to conserve water and only shower if absolutely necessary.
Original post: McCuller said the city is getting water from Mansfield and also has a connection with Fort Worth, in addition to the emergency wells that were activated. It's also helped that watering restrictions were already in effect from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today.
At an obscenely early hour this morning, crews from all the local TV stations descended on what by then was a gaping hole in a grassy field near Carrier Parkway and Camp Wisdom Road in Grand Prairie. They were there to cover a broken water line, of which there have been a lot in recent weeks as temperatures spike and the ground dries. But none have been quite so severe as this.
"We will run out of water by noon," city of Grand Prairie spokeswoman Amy Sprinkles told The Dallas Morning News. "It is inevitable unless everybody stops everything, which isn't realistic."
The break came in a 60-inch concrete line used to pipe 90 percent of the city's water supply from Dallas. The city will rely on well water as much as possible and is urging residents to drink bottled water, refrain from watering lawns, and use only whatever is necessary for basic personal hygiene.
"This is an emergency," public works director Ron McCuller told NBC 5. "We need to take drastic action to make sure we have fire protection because fire risk is high at this time of year."
There's been no definitive word on the cause of the break -- the combination of dry weather and shifting soil is thought to be the culprit. Officials say the problem may not be resolved until Friday, which is an incredibly long time to go without water.
Godspeed, Grand Prairie. Here's hoping we see you on the other side.
