Some residents along Highway 63 south of Eclectic are without water. Others are experiencing low pressure. But it is temporary.
The issue started Wednesday as Eclectic Water Works started work near a decommissioned water tank on Highway 63 to meet an ADEM regulation for drinking water systems.
Cliff Williams / TPI Town of Eclectic crews are joined by private contractors to repair a leaking water main Thursday. The nearby water tank has been out of operation for at least 10 years.
“They have a requirement that if you are not using a tank, it has an air gap between the supply lines and the tank,” Eclectic Mayor Gary Davenport said. “We hadn’t done that. We had just turned it off. That is what started all this is we started putting in the air gap and found these other lines.”
As the tank was disconnected a nearby leak was discovered. It was repaired Wednesday only to discover another nearby leak. It was repaired early Thursday morning but by sunrise, water had flooded a nearby pasture.
“We think there was another line that we connected to that had a crack in it or either the repairs we did, didn’t hold and we have to go back in and tighten everything,” Davenport said.
Crews were working through lunch Thursday. A section of 8-inch pipe was removed to allow inspection and reconnection of joining hardware.
In the meantime those south of the tank are with little to no water. Davenport estimates about 25 different water meters.
Everyone is hopeful this set of repairs solves the issue.
The long range repair is to bypass the issue all together. It is far more expensive and would require a bidding process. To do so, also requires permitting from ALDOT to install the waterline along the roadway. It would be a necessary remedy if the Town of Eclectic does anything with the property.
“This site could be used for something else,” Davenport said. “We might move a town department there. We might sell it to somebody.”
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