County postpones water main repairs

SOUTHPORT — Bay County Utility Services is postponing repairs for a cracked water main at Deer Point Reservoir until after the weekend when water demands are lower.

Department director Paul Lackemacher said crews completed emergency repairs and an evaluation of the crack Wednesday night after discovering it in the day.

The water main supplies the Southport area, including the communities of Lake Merial and RiverCamps, as well as Panama City Beach, which purchases water from the county and processes it in a separate facility.

Because the demand for water in Panama City Beach is high during the summer tourist season, Lackemacher said the county is planning to conduct the full repair between midnight and 6 a.m. Tuesday.

“To minimize inconvenience for everyone in the county, we’re trying to coordinate this ... at the lowest flow possible,” Lackemacher said, adding that water demand can increase by as much as one million gallons per day between Friday and Sunday. “Obviously this is the peak season for (the beach) and their demands are up.”

Southport residents should expect some service interruption, including outages and reduced water pressure, when repairs commence. The county also will issue a boil-water notice for the area during the repair process, which will require crews to drain the pipe and refuse the plastic.

Panama City Beach City Manager Mario Gisbert said the city would issue a boil-water advisory for its customers for two days after the repair.

The county issued a water notice Thursday morning for Southport, Lake Merial and RiverCamps following the preliminary repairs, but it expects to lift the notice Friday once results from a bacteriological test of the water are received.

Although the exact cause of the crack is unknown, Lackemacher said it appears to have been caused by a heavy force put on the pipe. Repairs are estimated to cost between $60,000 and $100,000.

News Herald writer John Henderson contributed to this report.