Residents in Reform have been dealing with the impacts from the cold weather that made its way to West Alabama last week. The cold conditions caused pipes in the city of Reform to freeze. Along with the frozen pipes, city officials are looking for a leak which left many people without running water for days.
Reform Mayor Melody Davis explains why the leaks are hard to find due to some lines not being on the city map. And the pipes are pretty old.
“The pipes dated back to 1940. So, it is now almost 2023. They are at a point where they can’t be patched. I think they have done a lot of repairs over the years. I became mayor here two years ago and the pipes are beyond repair. They have to be replaced,” said Davis.
The city of Reform recently received a state grant to update the city’s entire water system. That project is expected to begin in January. Mayor Davis told us that the grant can be used on future projects. This includes the building of the new tank and the lines.
In the meantime, the mayor and others in this close-knit community are doing what they can to help those in need. City leaders spent some time on Wednesday handing out water to residents at the city’s former fire department.
“You take water for granted, bathing, washing dishes, washing clothes. It has been different because you can’t do all that every day,” said Reform resident Marcia Black.
And other residents told us they were simply grateful for the chance to get free water.
“We just give thanks for the hard work the community is doing. We want to thank Mayor Davis for her hard work and the whole community coming together,” said reform resident Darryl Hill.
Mayor Davis says while the crews have repaired some leaks the water levels have not risen to the capacity that they need. She’s asking anyone willing to donate water to drop it off at Reform City Hall Thursday. Reform City Hall on 3rd Avenue Southeast.
