City Will Bid Work For Vegetation Clearance Along Power Lines
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A tree limb fell on a power line on Kimmons Street Friday just before lunch, leaving a portion of the City of Water Valley without power while the crew at the electric department made repairs.
WATER VALLEY – Water Valley Mayor Tommy Reynolds reported plans are underway to bring in outside crews to help clear rights-of-way for the electric lines in the city in an attempt to reduce power outages.
A portion of Water Valley including businesses on the west side of Main Street experienced a power outage Friday that was not directly related to weather when a tree fell on a power line on Kimmons Street. Businesses and residences were without power from around 11:40 a.m. until 2:30. After Friday’s outage
Reynolds said he contacted Atwell and Gent, a consulting company hired by the Water Valley Electric Department last year, to assist with a right-of-way clearance plan. The mayor said the plan will include specifications to clear rights-of-way for the most pressing 42 miles in the electric department’s coverage area. The work will be bid and bids are expected to be opened in mid-July.
“This will help us catch up,” Reynolds added. “With the crew size we have, they are already stretched and I think we need outside help. A lot of electric departments utilize outside assistance for right-of-way work,” the mayor added. “And this is not a problem that started last month or even last year. We have to catch up on maintaining the rights-of-way for our electric line. This is an emergency situation.”
Reynolds reported funding for the work will come from money allocated to the city by state lawmakers during the 2024 Legislative Session.
“The city received $1.5 million dollars and we appreciate that assistance,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds also cautioned that outages caused by storms will always be a problem for the city’s electric grid, similar to other electric providers.
“Oxford was out a day and a half,” Reynolds noted about Saturday’s storm hit the neighboring city hard.
“Things do happen in bad weather.”
The mayor also said there are other pressing infrastructure needs in the city that need immediate attention.
“The old saying, you can pay now or you can pay later. Well, payday has arrived in Water Valley and we have a lot of work to do in the city,” the mayor added.”
