Almost 1,000 Fort Smith water leaks repaired through June

BusinessFort Smith

by Michael Tilley ([email protected]) ago 64 views 

Progress continues in reducing city of Fort Smith water leaks, with almost 1,000 leaks repaired in the first six months of 2026. The number of active leaks at the end of June was down almost 75% compared with December 2025, according to city information.

The most recent water leak report from the city indicates 20 known active water leaks at the end of June, down 74.4% compared with 78 leaks at the end of December. The reduction in leaks is significant compared to just a few years ago when the city was struggling to address more than 2,500 known leaks.

However, June’s report showed more water leaks were reported than were repaired. Following is the June water leak report from the city.

  • Leaks repaired this month: 143
  • Leaks repaired this year: 989
  • New leaks reported in April: 145
  • Active leaks at the end of April: 20
  • Change in active leaks from previous month: up two

The city said work crews spent 26 days in June working on leaks, which results in an average of 5.5 leaks fixed per day in June.

The city reduced the number of water leaks by almost 90% in 2025. December numbers from the city show that 1,941 leaks were fixed in 2025, which is roughly 5.3 leaks repaired a day. The number of active leaks at the end of 2025 were down 89.4% 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.

The city has five crews focused on addressing water leaks, with the crew size varying between three and four people, according to Matt Meeker, director of Public Works for the city. He said in May that with water leaks now more under control, some of the crews are being assigned to other projects, including the department’s work to identify lead and copper lines. As part of its “Lead and Copper Rule” (LCR) program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires all cities to create an inventory of water lines to determine which need to be replaced and in what order.

“Whether all five crews are working on leaks varies from day to day,” Meeker said Tuesday (July 7). “Basically, it depends on what is needed. In June, in addition to leaks, they installed new services, replaced fire hydrants, and performed LCR verifications.”

Not all leaks reported to the city are on city infrastructure. Leaks from the water meter to the residence or the business are the responsibility of the home or business owner. The city urges residents to report leaks by texting “water leak” to 479-777-8311 or by calling the public works department at 479-784-2360.