Latest news with #MichaelJarman
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Panama City Beach awarded $5 Million for Water Redundancy project
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) – Panama City Beach is no stranger to storm emergencies and water main breaks. City officials have identified the resilience and reliability of the water distribution system as an issue and are investing in solutions. 'If we have a water issue, if we have the ability to tie into a loop and supply water from either side to the entire city, then you can start to really isolate where problems are and still maintain ample supply. If you know, a hurricane takes out one side of the system, we can still draw water and supply the entire system through the other side,' Vice Mayor Michael Jarman said. With the recent scarcity of federal funding, HUD's $5 million grant will help construct a transmission line that will extend approximately 6,500 feet. The line will range in size from 30-36 inches and run eastward. Panhandle Gem & Mineral Show offers unique finds in Panama City 'Ultimately, we are tapping into additional water sources and bringing those water sources down Highway 79. When the entire project is done, we will go all the way to the east side of the beach, and that will allow us to flow water from either the 79 or the east side, which creates a loop,' Jarman said. This portion of the water main is estimated to cost $9.7 million. Jarman says a benefit to phase one's design is that it's noninvasive. They won't be crossing any roads during construction. Panama City Beach's utility department says the amount of phases depends on rounds of funding. That will also determine how long the project will take to complete. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Yahoo
PCB officials give more details on back-to-back water main breaks from December
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) – On December 5, a Florida Department of Transportation subcontractor was completing his work when he hit a water line on Panama City Beach Parkway, between Culvers and Hancock Bank. Crews repaired the 16-inch line after a 3-to-4-hour service interruption. On December 9, someone reported a leak on Laird Street and Laurie Avenue, believed to be caused by a tractor-trailer or something similar. Protect your personal information this National Data Privacy Week Work crews confirmed a leak and ordered a new piece to repair it, but later that night, the line split, causing a major water main break. It took crews almost 24 hours to repair the line and restore service. 'It was just the duration that our crews were out there. They would get tired and fatigued. We really needed on-call services from a supplemental contract. That idea would just be basically a standby service that we would call if we had an event like that in the future,' PCB Utilities Director Mark Shaeffer said. City officials say they're hoping to hire more workers. 'One of the areas or two of the areas that we had discussed was adding another crew for the additional valve exercise machine. And that team would also be part of the locating team for the isolation valves that are existing in the system and also increasing the number of personnel we have to do line locates for contractors,' PCB Vice Mayor Michael Jarman said. Officials believe helping contractors locate lines before digging could help prevent damages. The valve exercise machine will help isolate future line breaks. Utility officials want to add four more water tanks in Panama City Beach, two on the west end and two on the east end. They say this will not only help with daily usage of water but will help in emergencies like natural disasters. Georgia man remains on death row following 2008 murder of teenage girl 'Our tanks were full prior to Michael, we were able to reduce the pressure that we were giving it to people so they wouldn't use it as use as much water. It's water conservation stuff. So yeah, that, that was essential for us out here in terms of staging for emergency response and keeping people, residents in their homes and so forth.' The city will consider Shaeffer's proposals and decide in the next few months. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
