Byrdstown Locating Water Leaks To Improve Water Loss Rate

Byrdstown starting a second round of leak detections for the Pall Mall Chanute Water Utility District.

Mayor Sam Gibson said finding the leaks will help improve a 50 percent water loss rate the recently acquired system faces.

“Pickett County is an area that’s got a lot of sink holes, a lot of rocks and places where water doesn’t come up,” Gibson said. “So hopefully, we’ll locate a bunch of those and help solve a little bit of our water problem up in that area.”

The project estimated to cost the town about $18,000. Gibson said the work should pay for itself as city workers take the locations and make repairs over time.

Gibson said the work also helps the town map the utility district. The area that serves some 400 customer did not come with a water line map when Byrdstown purchased last year.

“It will also help us a little bit to find some of these area,” Gibson said. “One day someone was doing some logging and saw water running through a culvert. They checked it, and it was city water. The leak was 30 to 40 feet off the road. We don’t know where these lines are.”

The first line study ranged from Byrdstown to the Pall Mall pumping station. The contractor found 1.4 million gallons worth of leaks. Gibson said crews will now evaluate the water system the Pall Mall pump station serves.

“We did some leak detection a couple of months ago and found quite a few leaks,” Gibson said. “But, we’re continuing to have a lot of leaks especially in the Pall Mall area.”