Water leaks costly, being fixed, Fort Smith board told

FORT SMITH — The city’s water system lost an estimated $4 million worth of water last year because of leaks in lines and old water meters, but steps are being taken to resolve both problems.

Jerry Walters, the utilities director, told city directors in a study session Tuesday that crews have repaired hundreds of leaks in the 27-inch and 36-inch lines carrying water from the water-treatment plant from Lake Fort Smith at Mountainburg 18 miles to Fort Smith. Walters added there are many more leaks in the lines that haven’t been discovered.

The 27-inch line was built in the 1930s and the 36-inch line was laid in the 1950s, according to the Utility Department.

A slide presentation included photographs of water leaking from the pipes at various locations. Walters jokingly referred to one leak uncovered last year as “Old Faithful” because water shot several feet into the air.

Workers find the leaks in the lines typically are about three-eighths of an inch in diameter. At that rate, Walters said, one such leak can result in the loss of more than 10 million gallons in a year.

A graph in the presentation showed the water system lost 22 percent of the treated water produced at the Mountainburg plant compared with water metered at its destination. Walters said every 5 percent of water loss represents about $1 million in lost revenue.

City Administrator Carl Geffken said Fort Smith bills about $25 million a year for water. The city provides water to residents but also to cities and water associations surrounding Fort Smith, including Van Buren and Barling.

Work has been completed on replacing 6 miles of the two leaking lines with a

48-inch line for more than $14.7 million. The new line will last 100 years and will provide water not only to meet Fort Smith’s needs but will accommodate growth in areas such as the fast-growing Chaffee Crossing, Walters said.

The second phase of the project, extending the 48-inch line another 12 miles to the Arkansas River, is in the design phase expected to be completed next year. Completion of that stretch of line is estimated for 2022, Walters said. The second

phase is to cost about $35 million.

The money for the work is coming from the sale of revenue bonds and from state and federal loan programs, he said.

City directors voted in February to buy the first of 30,000 water meters and electronic readers to replace most of the meters in Fort Smith. Old and malfunctioning meters don’t accurately record the amount of water passing through them and many leak, costing the city lost water and water-sales revenue.

The replacement is expected to take two years and cost about $5 million.