| Updated: 9/18/2009 9:42 pm |
Published: 9/18/2009 9:15 pm |
A small Arkansas town had to wait for water for three days. Officials in Perry County say heavy rains this week caused water lines to break affecting hundreds of people. There were even more water problems that added to all of the frustrations.
Imagine coming home and turning on your faucet only to find nothing coming out. People in one small town didn't have to use their imagination; it was a reality all week. A week they prayed would end just as quickly as it started.
Lawton Hawkins couldn't believe his eyes. "I came in from work and didn't have any water. I needed a bath,” he said.
Frustrated, he could only hope and wait. "{I thought} we'd have water in a couple of hours. But it started getting late and I thought well I’m still dirty I need to do something so I put my bathing suit on and I went to the pond,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins is one of hundreds of Thornburg residents battling water woes all week. Late Monday city leaders noticed a leak, and then 2 water lines broke.
"The problem with 2 breaks in that amount of time is that they're both 6 inch lines and they de-pressurize the system really quick," said Mayor Howard Porter.
Mayor Porter says all week crews worked around the clock searching for the root of the problem.
On top of that, a water pump went out Thursday night. Mayor Porter says when it rains, it pours.
"That's been part of our problem is all the rain. The creeks are full of water and it’s hard to find leaks when your lines are covered with water," Porter said.
Crews had to turn off water valves, even to residents with water, in order to find and fix the problem. Three days later, they solved the problem taking away the inconvenience people dealt with for days.
"We use the rainwater to brush our teeth. There's nothing you can do about Mother Nature," Hawkins said.
He isn't the only person in Thornburg who used rain water to take care of hygiene. Other residents there told us they had to do the same thing.
Mayor Horton says crews restored mostly all of the water in Thornburg by Friday evening, but they are still working out some kinks for people who live near Lake Sylvia Road and Blue Jay Hollow. He hoped to have them fully up and running by midnight Saturday.
There were a total of three water line breaks, in addition to the failure of a water pump. Mayor Porter says the town had another water pump on standby so there were no additional problems from that failure. Thornburg has a little over 300 water customers and gets its water from the city of Perryville.
