Update: Water service has been restored to the Willow Heights apartments and Teeny Tiny Preschool.
Mike Emery, the Chairman of the Fayetteville Housing Authority Board of Commission sent out a release saying, “At approximately 6:00 PM July 17, water service was restored to the apartments and Teeny Tiny Preschool at Willow Heights. However a boil order remains in effect until further notice. Patrons of Teeny Tiny Preschool should contact the facility to determine their operation status.”
According to the release the broken water pipe was a 6 inch pipe installed in 1972.
Delays in the repair were caused by sudden storms, stubborn sidewalk concrete over the site, depth of the pipe and the exact location of the break, says Emery.
FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) -- An overnight water line break has shut off water at the Willow Heights apartment complex in Fayetteville, according to Mike Emery, the Fayetteville Housing Authority Board of Commission Chairman.
Emery says, repair crews are working on getting to the broken pipe which may be as deep as 10-11 feet. Heavier equipment is being brought in because equipment on site was unable to adequately penetrate the concrete.
They believe the culprit is a busted 6 inch pipe that was installed in 1972.
“We`ve been talking about it for a long time, that it`s just a matter of time before the facilities become uninhabitable, just because we don`t have the funds to do all the repairs and upgrades that are necessary because we have a dwindling budget from HUD,” Emery said.
The executive director and the maintenance team are on-site addressing the situation. The water to the entire complex will be shut off in order to fix the break.
Water for the residents has been purchased by the Fayetteville Housing Authority, and the Walmart on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd in Fayetteville donated a pallet of water for those living in Willow Heights.
Emery said the situation serves to highlight the deteriorating condition of the Willow Heights complex. There is currently no estimate on when the reqpairs will be complete and water service will be restored.
Residents will be updated as more information becomes available.
This also meant that Teeny Tiny Preschool was closed.
Assistant Director Michele Miner said they didn't know about the water issue until they arrived.
They called as many of the parents as they could, but some still showed up.
“It was a bit of a scramble to have to contact all our parents because DHS regulations we can`t operate without running water. So it left quite a few people high and dry this morning,” she said.
Tania Mahoney-Vazquez was one of those parents who got a call this morning.
She and her husband work, so he took off the morning to stay with their daughter and they switched this afternoon.
“I think we are all in a similar situation, you know working parents. We`re use to having to scramble sometimes if a child is sick or something. It`s a little bit of an inconvenience but nothing major. I think the real burden falls on the residents of Willow Heights that are without water,” she said.
