MANSFIELD -- Rural water customers should all have their service restored by Thursday morning, Mansfield Mayor William "Buddy" Black said Wednesday afternoon.
"Everybody will have water by tomorrow morning," Black said.
Black said about 450 homes of residents outside the city were without water beginning on Friday. He said the city water utility has two water tanks, one that supplies water to city residents and one that supplies water to the rural customers.
The interruption in water supply began when a sensor apparently froze during the sub-zero temperatures that hit the area last week, Black said.
"It told us the tank was full when it was empty," Black said of the malfunction."We had 65 miles of 6-inch water line we had to fill. Before we could begin to fill the line we had to fill the tank. The water has been restored to most customers by this afternoon. Everybody will have water tomorrow."
Black said the Arkansas National Guard was in Mansfield with a "water hippo" to help provide water to residents whose service was interrupted. Sebastian County's Emergency Management Department also sent two smaller "water buffaloes" to help supply water, he said.
"We're just thankful we have water back," Black said. "We're also very thankful to our citizens and to all the different agencies who helped us."
Black said the city has detected "two or three" leaks in the water lines that will have to be repaired. He said the restoration of water service was the top priority and the city will begin repairing the leaks as soon as possible.
Sebastian County Judge Steve Hotz declared a "disaster emergency proclamation" for the county Friday in the wake of the James Fork Regional Water District -- with Mansfield -- having this water shortage, which stemmed from high volume leaks, according to a post on the Sebastian County Emergency Management Facebook page. The proclamation is set to expire after 120 days unless Hotz extends it.
The county will continue to provide resources during the water shortage as long as it has them, according to Travis Cooper, deputy director of Sebastian County Emergency Management.
The department reported via Facebook on Sunday that eight different local fire departments and the county Road Department helped deliver 48,000 total gallons of water to the Mansfield Juvenile Treatment Center this past weekend.