Some Saline County residents were without water service for days after a winter storm in January. The water company’s supply ran low from dripping faucets. Saline County officials took action and organized an operation to distribute gallon jugs of water to residents, and refill the water tower. Read more below and see the photo gallery.
Saline County officials coordinated a multi-agency response this week to deliver drinking water to residents in the Castle Rock area after a prolonged outage affected customers of the Southwest Water Users District.
County government does not oversee the district, but officials said assisting residents during emergencies remains a priority. After learning of the outage, the county worked with the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management to secure two pallets of bottled water and coordinate distribution with Southwest Water Users.
As the outage extended into multiple days, officials expanded the response. The Saline County Office of Emergency Management led coordination with local and state partners, while the Saline County Road Department cleared access routes so heavy tanker trucks could safely reach the system in the hilly area.
Volunteer fire departments from across the county provided tanker support to refill the district’s storage tank and hydrants. Participating departments included Lonsdale Fire Department, Haskell Fire Department, Turtle Creek Fire & Rescue, Salem Fire District, Lake Norrell Area Fire Protection District, Magnet Cove Volunteer Fire Department, Tull Fire & Rescue, Morning Star Fire Department and Crows Station Fire Department.
County Judge Matt Brumley also contacted neighboring county judges, several of whom donated their emergency water allotments to Saline County to support the response.
Saline County OEM, Arkansas Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 1 and the Pulaski County Office of Emergency Management transported nine pallets of bottled water from ADEM in Little Rock to Saline County. Volunteers then assisted with loading and door-to-door delivery after the water arrived at JJ’s Truck Stop. Holland Chapel and Benton Public Schools high school football coaches and players helped distribute the supplies.
Fire department crews continued refilling the system late Wednesday and through Thursday. By Thursday evening, officials said all affected residents had access to water.
Officials credited the response to cooperation among county departments, volunteer agencies and neighboring counties, calling it an example of regional collaboration during an emergency.
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