Report: New Fort Smith water leaks outpace repaired leaks

Water leaks seem to be a constant headache for the City of Fort Smith with a new leak seeming to spring up with every one repaired. The utilities department has repaired 1,391 water leaks in the city so far this year, according to the October Water Leak report.

“We have taken significant steps to address water leaks across the city. Temporary personnel have been brought in, and we are actively filling vacant equipment operator positions,” said Utility Director Lance McAvoy. “We’ve also hired a Water Project Specialist whose responsibilities include maintaining accurate records of active leaks.”

The city now has a dedicated crew working on the oldest leaks, while other teams prioritize urgent issues, such as leaks causing pressure loss, service interruptions, or potential infrastructure damage, McAvoy said.

In October, city crews repaired 167 leaks. During that same time, 283 new leaks were reported. Not all leaks reported to the city are on city infrastructure, so only 184 of those reported were confirmed city leaks. Leaks from the meter to the residence or the business are the responsibility of the business owner, the report said.

There were 817 confirmed leaks remaining to be repaired at the end of October. As of Monday (Nov. 18) there are 826 confirmed leaks, McAvoy said.

Leaks are repaired based on priority, according to the city. A new leak that causes an emergency, loss of pressure or loss of water service will take priority and cause some older leaks to be moved down the list, it said.

“As of the end of September, we have successfully repaired more leaks this year than we did in all last year. While the number of verified leaks citywide has remained steady year-over-year at around 800, this demonstrates our ongoing commitment to addressing water leaks as expediently as we can,” McAvoy said.

The city’s goal remains to address and repair leaks within a one-month timeframe. However, the number of new leaks being reported exceeds the city’s capacity to fix them within the same month, he said.

“Currently, there are 826 confirmed leaks, and we have already repaired 50 leaks this month. One thing that slows us down is a shortage of equipment and dealing with breakdowns from our aging equipment. We are working to make steady progress on leaks throughout the city,” McAvoy said.