Fort Smith water leaks down more than 15% through March

The City of Fort Smith continues to make progress addressing water leaks on an aging system that tallied more than 2,500 leaks in 2022. The number of confirmed leaks at the end of March was down more than 15% compared with the end of 2024.

City officials began to more aggressively tackle the leak issue during and after 2022 when the number of leaks totaled 2,575, which was 43.4% more than in 2021. The city reported 1,135 confirmed leaks in January 2024, with that number falling to 739 in December 2024.

There were 625 “active leaks” noted in the city’s March 2025 leak report, which is down 15.4% compared with December 2024.

Following are the stats reported by the city in its March report.
• Leaks repaired in March: 121
• Leaks repaired in 2025: 345
• New leaks reported in March: 171
• New leaks confirmed in March: 81
• Current active leaks (as of the end of March): 625

“Not all leaks reported are on the city infrastructure. Leaks from the meter to the residence or the business are the responsibility of the property owner,” according to the city.

The city also said leaks are repaired based on priority, and not always in the order that leaks are reported.

Lance McAvoy, director of Fort Smith water utilities, has said the department’s goal is to repair 100 to 150 leaks a month depending on weather, leak location, and severity. He also said equipment availability has been a challenge in the effort to more timely address leaks.

The city averaged 134 leak repairs a month in 2024, and McAvoy has said he wants to get the average closer to 150 by the end of 2025.