Fort Smith utilities worked around the clock in storm

FORT SMITH — Last week’s extreme winter weather damaged a number of water lines throughout the city, forcing utility department employees to put in some extra work.

Lance McAvoy, the city’s utility director, said during Feb. 15-21, his department responded to 15 breaks in one of the major lines that carry water throughout the city. The Utility Department also responded to 805 work orders related to frozen pipes in structures during that period.

“So it could be that some- body called for us to shut the water off, and then called us back to say, ‘Hey, we got our line fixed, can you come back and turn the water on,’” McAvoy said.

The department used overtime as needed during this period, he said, although he couldn’t say how much overtime.

Crews started working on one line break during the afternoon and didn’t finish until 5 a.m. the next day, though workers were rotated in and out to let them rest, he said.

Joe Sellers, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tulsa, Okla., said the service measured 6 inches of snow at the Fort Smith Regional Airport during the week. Temperatures also dipped as low as -8 degrees Fahrenheit on Feb. 16.

McAvoy said no one was ever without water as a result of the main breaks to his knowledge. The snow and freezing temperatures didn’t hurt the city’s drinking water plants, he said.

“We were able to produce water and continue to produce water the entire time,” he said.

McAvoy said his department was able to repair the main breaks and close out the work orders, despite the workload and the cold weather’s impact on the department’s diesel vehicles. Regarding the work orders, he didn’t know whether there are still residents waiting on plumbers to fix their pipes.

Other city departments offered their staff to help as well, but the Utility Department was able to stay on top of it, according to McAvoy.

McAvoy said the city has more than 720 miles of water line. The department’s water line maintenance program consists of 77 people when fully staffed.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Saccente) A Fort Smith Utility Department crew works on a water main project at 115 Martin Circle on Friday. Go to nwaonline.com/ 210227Daily/ for today’s photo gallery.