It was in December and January when thousands of people in Perry County were without water service for days due to line breaks and freezing temperatures. But Hazard City Manager Carlos Combs said he hopes the City will, by the next winter, have a much better capability to pinpoint leaks like those that caused this past winter’s shortage. In the meantime, Combs added, the City is aggressively locating and fixing any leak within the system, no matter the size.
“We’ve done a great improvement in just a little bit [of time],” Combs said. “But we’ve still got a far way to go. We’ve been going after every leak that we know of. We’re not ignoring anything.”
Combs said city employees have fixed several small leaks in the past few weeks, and according to the monthly utility report which he presented to the Hazard City Commission on Monday, the city’s estimated water loss of 34 million gallons due to leaks in March was about half the amount unaccounted for in February. But Combs noted there is still work to be done, and a line loss of 19 percent in March is still a bit too high. Combs said a reduction in line loss to about 15 percent would be more acceptable.
And as crews continue to locate leaks in the system, City Engineer Hank Spaulding is expected to have a plan ready soon that will allow officials to better pinpoint leaks through the use of flow meters, or devices that allow for accurate measuring of water usage along a certain line. Combs said he expects officials to “try to sit down and figure out how we’re going to pay for it,” soon, and with a slow economy, locating those funds could prove to be the biggest challenge.
“We’re trying to get some funding to help us correct some of this,” Combs said, noting regardless of the money situation he believes officials have to address problems within the water system, and he’s hopeful to be able to do that before the winter arrives in Perry County.
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