Liberty reports improved water production
The water pressure in Pine Bluff continues to hold and the volume of water is getting closer to normal levels, a Liberty Utilities official said on Monday.
Mike Beatty, a vice president at the water utility, said at a weekly update meeting with Pine Bluff and Jefferson County officials that all three pumping stations are producing pressures in a normal range and that the daily production of 11.6 million gallons shows continued improvement.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” Beatty told the officials at the meeting, which is held in the county’s Office of Emergency Management space in the basement of the
courthouse.
Beatty said there are still five additional personnel from other Liberty properties who are remaining in Pine Bluff and helping locate leaks, and that a company called American Leak Detection is also assisting. The company has equipment that Beatty likened to an “amplified stethoscope” that it uses to locate leaks around fire hydrants and water mains.
“The search continues,” Beatty said.
The daily production of water, he said, is still a bit high. Beatty said he went back to the beginning of February, before the cold weather in mid-February caused pipes to burst and the water system’s pressure to plummet, and the average then was just above 10 million gallons a day. The difference between that number and the 11.6 million today leads officials to believe that there is still a bit more work to do.
“We still think probably there’s some leaks out there,” he said. “We’re getting close. We’re very happy with where the pressures are.”
Mayor Shirley Washington asked Beatty if he had any plumbers who could assist homeowners who are trying to get repairs made. Beatty said he did not.
Washington asked because officials are having a difficult time finding plumbers in the area who have the time and are willing to assist in an effort to help make home repairs.
Last week, Liberty Utilities partnered with the United Way of Southeast Arkansas and city officials to help some 300 residents get their water lines repaired and reconnected. As a goodwill gesture, Liberty handed the United Way a check for $250,000 to pay for those repairs.
City officials are also assisting in that effort, helping to identify customers and plumbers. Washington said the city will likely have to reach out beyond the Pine Bluff area to find enough plumbers to make the necessary repairs.
Residents who have not been able to make repairs to their water lines that were damaged during the cold weather may call (855) 3826508.
During the water crisis, many Liberty customers had little to no water for a week or more, causing some high-volume users, such as Jefferson Regional Medical Center, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Saracen Casino Resort, to alter or halt their operations.