HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. — The residents of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, are nearly out of a days-long water crisis that forced them to shut off running water when the town's water supply got too low, according to Mayor Christopher Franklin.
The issues stemmed from major water main leaks in different spots around town, according to the Mayor, leaving water levels in the town's main tank 12 feet under where they were supposed to be as late as Monday.
"We are close in both ways now," Franklin said in a Facebook post. "On the bad side, we are struggling to keep water sufficient to service everyone, and every day is an almost out of water, totally kind of day. On the good side, our new well is nearly complete and will provide water and breathing room to work on the system and keep customers with water."
Tuesday morning, Franklin said water levels in the tank were at 50 feet and climbing, and that water would be able to be turned on by 6 a.m. Tuesday.
During winter weather in January, damage to the town's water infrastructure forced residents without water for more than 10 days. In the summer of 2023, the town went nearly a week without water.
This latest period without water happened days after town leadership met regarding raising the rates of water and sewage bills to get on top of their infrastructure issues.
"We should have raised rates 15 years ago and kept up maintenance and avoided being in this situation," Franklin said in a Facebook comment. "But, we didn't. We are here and fixing the problem is going to cost money."
