DEMOREST – Demorest officials are appealing to the public for help in locating the source of a major water leak that is resulting in the loss of a half-million gallons a day.
Mayor Rick Austin told council members Tuesday night the leak was discovered through electronic monitoring devices Friday night.
“The tank at Dicks Hill was dropping substantially,” Austin said. “Our public works director actually left a ballgame for one of his children and began trying to pinpoint why the water was dropping out of the tank. Obviously, it appeared to be a leak.”
Public works personnel in the city have checked the city’s hundreds of miles of water lines, which spread out throughout the county.
“They have spent, since Friday night, over 40 hours of overtime trying to pinpoint where this particular leak is,” Austin said. “Right now, it appears to be about a half-million gallons a day that the City of Demorest is losing.”
Because not all water lines run along roads, personnel have often been out on foot looking for the leak.
“Our crews have been all over the water lines,” Austin said. “They’ve driven them, they’ve walked them. They’ve walked through creeks. They’ve walked down railroad tracks. They’ve checked every major crossing of roads, etc., and there is absolutely no sign that they can find.”
On Thursday, the Georgia Rural Water Association will bring in specialized sound detection equipment to assist the city in its attempts to locate the leak.
But city leaders hope someone in Habersham County has seen something that will help them locate the leak so it can be stopped and repaired.
“We do ask all of our customers that if they see anything that seems to be out of the ordinary with water rising in places that normally are dry to please alert the city hall and help us locate the significant water loss so we can get that stopped,” Austin said.
Demorest City Hall can be reached at (706) 778-4202.
