BARLING (KFSM)- As of Tuesday (July 14) morning, the city of Barling has been without sufficient water for more than 12 hours after a major water line break off Highway 22.
About 500 homes were without water while the rest of the city was left with less than half of their normal water pressure. Crews were out all day Tuesday trying to fix the water line, but residents said they felt the effects of being without water after just a few hours.
One resident, Jessica French, has four children all under the age of 10. She said her main concern was cooking them dinner if the water did not come back on.
“Somebody with kids, it does make it very difficult because, like I said, with the water and food situation kids ain't going to wait that long to eat what's good for them,” French said. “It's probably going to be sandwiches and chips tonight, which is not going to fill them up.”
French was also worried about their hygiene.
“None of my kids have had their teeth brushed this morning, so that`s kind of irritating,” French said. “Walking around with dirty mouths and stuff and can`t have a bath.”
Public Works Director Steve Core said he thinks high temperatures could have played a role in the water line break.
“Hot weather does strange things to clay that`s been wet, and it pops lines,” Core said. “It happens every summer. It just happens that it popped a big one this time.”
Charlie Topjian lives in one of the 500 homes that didn’t have water all day, but he said that wasn’t his only problem.
“We tried calling [the city] several times today to just get any answers and every time was a busy signal over and over and over,” Topjian said.
Topjian said the lack of communication between the city and residents was frustrating.
“One of the problems with the city of Barling is that there's only a little over 4,000 people here, but we have no way of communication,” Topjian said. “There's no Facebook, there's no website, and when you call the number on the magnet, it's actually the police department.”
He said residents have no way of knowing what’s going with their water.
“There's no way to find out what's happening in the area,” Topjian said. “There's no one calling us to let us know. Like I said, there's 4,500 people here. They should have an auto-dialer that lets the residents know when the utilities are out.”
The crew working on the water line discovered that the pipe has been collapsing over time.
“This is an original asbestos cement pipe put in in 1968, the first water system planted under public funding,” said Core. “There are signs that it eroded over a period of years and it was leaking over a period of years, and it finally just gave up the ghost in the heat.”
Core said crews will be back in the morning to repair the water line. A boil order is in place for residents who have running water. The boil order will be in place until the water line is fixed and the water is tested.