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LUS water system still reacting to drought

Water
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The LUS water system is still reacting to the drought conditions this summer, but officials say its under control.

"We have a number of leaks across the system," said LUS Director Jeff Stewart. "The drought, the soil shrinking, we had pipes moving, breaking, joints coming loose. So we have a lot more leaks than usual."

But, Stewart says, every leak gets evaluated and assessed as soon as it is found, he said.

"If it's a major or a threat to fire protection, we will get to it right away," Stewart explained. "If it's a slower leak, it will be prioritized. And we have quite a number of them, the drought really did a number on the system."

Stewart says if you see a leak, LUS probably knows about it but it doesn't hurt anything to report it.

"If you see water trickling, we probably know, but you can call it in anyway," Stewart says. "Every call we get, somebody puts their eyes on it to evaluate the severity."

Definitely if you see a leak that seems to be getting worse, call and report that, Stewart says.

LUS is bringing on contract crews to help catch up with all the leaks, and it will take a few months to get to all the leaks, he said.