Hundreds of people in Wetzel County were asked to conserve water after a sewage problem on Tuesday.

The difficulties began after a pump failed at the Pine Grove Sewage Plant and affected the entire town of just under 600.

Valley High School and Short Line Elementary School were dismissed early, and all residents were asked to limit flushing toilets, taking showers, washing dishes and washing clothes.

Officials said until the pump is fixed, everything that goes down the drains will come right back up.

Crews at the plant were working all day to fix the faulty pump, and an engineer said people must follow their warnings and conserve water.

"The more water that's used, the more water will go through the system that will have to be dealt with," said Dana Indermuhle.

He said water won't be able to go completely through the system until the pump is fixed, and, if it's not fixed soon, sewage could start backing up into homes and business because it will have nowhere else to go.

Indermuhle said they are looking into getting a temporary pump if they can't fix the broken one soon.

Stay with NEWS9 and WTOV9.com for continuing coverage.

-Renee Cardelli & Ashley Koe, NEWS9