Number of Fort Smith water system leaks on the decline
by January 22, 2025 4:44 pm 275 views

Water leaks on the Fort Smith system have decreased almost 39% from January 2024. The city has 739 leaks, according to the December water leak report released Tuesday (Jan. 22). The city had 1,135 leaks in January 2024, according to Lance McAvoy, director of water utilities.
Because of the city’s aging infrastructure, leaks are something the city is going to have. The hope is the city will be able to keep up with the repairs and bring the number down each year, McAvoy said.
“We have pipes that are over 100 years old. During the dry time of year, the ground contracts and pulls on pipes and service connections, which may result in breaking lines or the connections. During the cold times, lines and meters may freeze. These are the main causes of water line and service line leaks,” McAvoy said.
The utility department repaired 134 leaks in December. The 739 active leaks on the city’s list of repairs to make at the first of the year indicate a decrease of 72 from the end of November. There were 126 new leaks reported, with 62 of those confirmed. Not all leaks reported are city infrastructure. Leaks from the meter to the residence or business are the responsibility of the property owner.
Depending on weather, 100 to 150 leaks a month may be successfully repaired by the city depending on the location of a leak, McAvoy said.
“A leak in the middle of the road or emergency major line break takes more crews and time to repair,” he said.
The city averaged 134 leak repairs a month in 2024. McAvoy said the city is hoping it will be able to average repairs to 150 leaks a month through 2025.
“One of the biggest challenges the city faces is aging equipment,” he said. “Replacing dump trucks, back hoes, etc., is vital to keep crews operational in repairing water leaks.”
In March and April 2024, several pieces of utility department equipment needed to be repaired. This decreased the number of repairs to under 100 leaks – 63 repairs in March and 55 in April. Administration believes that as long as the equipment works as needed, they will be able to make more impact on the leak list again this year.
“We are continuing the work we have been doing. Last year we repaired/remediated about 400 more leaks than were reported. This means we saw an actual reduction of leaks on the list of about 400,” McAvoy said.
The construction of the 48-inch transmission, one of the city’s big ticket projects in the five-year capital improvement plan, will allow the city to take the 27-inch transmission line offline and rehabilitate it, he said. That in itself will help with the number of leaks the city faces, he said.
“Water leaks happen and the aging transmission lines are one reason we need the new transmission line,” McAvoy said.