Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

During a recent meeting, the Evarts City Council heard an update on the city’s troubled water system.

Mayor Eddie Manning Called on water department Supervisor Woody Fields to bring the council up to speed on the city’s water situation.

“We are still running at about 50 percent,” Fields said. “Since those numbers came out, we’ve found several leaks, several big issues.”

According to Fields, one issue is water theft. He mentioned a location where a city water line had been tapped into illegally was recently located.

“They had dug down to a line,” Fields explained. “We got some information from one of the neighbors who told us where they tapped into the line. They really did some work to get around us being able to detect it. That’s going to be something that will help.”

Fields noted one of the city’s water pumps recently went down.

“If you remember, last month, we talked about getting a newer pump that would put out more gallons per minute,” Fields said. “What we did is, not only did we put one pump out that pumps more gallons per minute, but we also put another pump out there to keep as a source so when we do get behind, we can turn it on as well.”

Fields said there has been some improvement overall.

“Things are looking better this month than they were last month as far as raw water goes,” Fields said. “That’s been a big help, and I think it will sustain us…barring anything catastrophic, we might be able to hold our own for the next little bit.”

Fields additionally advised the council that a failed pump motor is being dealt with.

“Instead of just getting a new motor, I’ve got a company coming to look at the electric to make sure it’s not an electrical issue,” Fields said. “We have had all kinds of issues with power…I did notice it was running kind of funny, so we’re going to have that breaker box looked at.”

Fields explained that if the power is a problem, it will be fixed; if not, the motor is under warranty.

“I’ll have more information as the week goes on,” Fields advised. “We are down to one pump right now…it’s a really good pump. We had to run off it solely for a few months before, so hopefully, it will last another few weeks.”

Fields also told the Council that water department personnel have been working overtime to keep the water running.

“The field guys worked about 60 hours each last week,” Manning added.

Following some more discussion, the council accepted the water report.