BEAUMONT, Texas — Driving through Beaumont, you might notice water leaks throughout the city.
It's easy to find the wasted water gushing into drains, all while the city asks residents to conserve.
Beaumont leaders tell 12News that crews are overwhelmed with the leaks.
"We're repairing lots of water lines every day. It just so happens that at this point we're not able to keep up," said Mayor Roy West.
These water leaks are what's causing the water worries throughout the city.
"Well all that soil is moving around those water pipes too and it causes water leaks," said Director of Public Works Bart Bartkowiak
He tells 12News that crews have fixed six major leaks but they have 259 minor ones pending. Normally, they would have 60 to 70 leaks this time of year.
"Pending means they've been reported in to us, we've identified them, we've marked them with blue paint or a wooden stake that's painted blue. But we just haven't been able to get to them yet," Bartkowiak said.
Mayor West knows it's frustrating to see the streams of water being wasted at a time when the city is asking residents to conserve water.
"We investigate each leak to see how many gallons per hour it's leaking. If you got one that's leaking 100 gallons an hour, the ones that are leaking four to eight hundred gallons a minute a going to get priority over that," said West.
Bartkowiak says the entire water department is focused on repairs and they've also hired an outside contractor who will be an additional crew.
"We have nine city crews working and we have one contractor crew working and a crew is normally three people," Bartkowiak said.
Bartkowiak told 12News depending on how bad the leaks are, crews can fix three or four a day.
Councilman At Large Randy Feldschau sympathizes with residents who are experiencing the impacts of the leaks.
"My water has an odor, my water taste bad, and so we have a vested interested in this not only for our citizens but for ourselves. I say that because we can empathize with our citizens, we know and understand their frustrations," said Feldschau.
Residents are still asked to conserve water until the city's water supply to gets back to normal. Bartkowiak says that could be a few days if crews are able to catch up on the repairs.