PRAIRIE GROVE (KFSM) -- After two weeks of searching, the city of Prairie Grove located the source of a water leak Monday (Jan. 9) with the help of a Facebook tip.
Larry Olerich, the city's director of public works, said they knew they had a leak, but were unable to locate it. He explained this was an unusual case because the water did not come to the surface but was channeled underground instead.
After days of searching, the city made a post on its Facebook page asking if anyone was experiencing anything unusual, like lower than normal water pressure. After they received a response from someone on the west side of town, crews were able to find the leak in a pasture just outside the city.
Olerich said they city lost about 150,000 gallons of water each day, but they residents will not have to worry about paying for the lost water because the city budgeted for emergencies like this one.
"This is about $500 a day," said Olerich. "So over the course of two weeks, it’s in the thousands not in the hundreds.”
Olerich and his crews were able to fix the leak in about an hour. They spent the rest of the day flushing the area and letting the air clear out of the lines.