Plumbers gave a variety of reasons -- not enough pay, too much paperwork and even protruding bellies -- for their disinterest in helping the city and the water company fix residents' winter storm-damaged water lines.
City officials and Liberty Utilities representatives have been trying to locate plumbers from the Pine Bluff area and beyond with little success.
An official from United Way of Southeast Arkansas, which is helping out by processing and paying invoices for the plumbing work, said Thursday that the agency had written a single check to one plumber and the invoice was for repairs at two different residences.
Compare that to the approximately 360 people who were initially without water from February's bitter winter weather and the "100-plus" people who more recently have been cleared by Liberty to get their plumbing fixed with money donated by the utility.
Two weeks ago, the utility donated $250,000 to the United Way, with the money earmarked for paying for repairs to residents' water lines that broke and burst from the cold weather. Liberty has said that it would limit what it pays on a single repair to $500, though the city's Economic and Development department has said it could step in and make up the difference if a repair is more than $500 and if the person qualifies for the Department of Housing and Urban Development money the department would use.
But despite direct calls to plumbers, social media posts and newspaper ads asking for help, apparently just one plumber is participating so far. Owners of plumbing supply companies in Pine Bluff, as well as plumbers themselves, said the reasons are varied.
Steve Cope, who owns Winsupply of Pine Bluff, a plumbing supply company on Midland Drive, said there are three different kinds of plumbers: those who work on new construction, those who do commercial work, "and then what I call the repair plumbers, those who you can call, and they'll come fix something. The other ones, they aren't messing with such a thing as repairs."
For those who do repair work, even they don't like crawling under a house, Cope said, adding that some are overweight, which makes under-house work difficult.
As he filled an order and talked, he pulled out his cellphone.
"I'll just call a plumber right now," he said.
He then punched in a number and was soon on the phone with a plumber who said he didn't want his name used. Cope asked if the city had called him about the project, and the plumber said the city had.
"So you've just been too swamped?" Cope asked the person. "That's kinda what I figured."
Cope hung up the phone and then relayed what the plumber on the phone and others have said about Liberty's repair project.
"They're all too busy to mess with the extra paperwork," Cope said. "A homeowner calls, and a plumber goes out and does the work and is paid and gone. He doesn't have time for something like this that might take hours to even figure out if he's going to be able to do the work."
At this point, another plumber walked into the Cope's warehouse to pick up an order. The plumber works for another plumber, so he didn't want his name used. He said his boss had also been called but had declined the extra work, adding that plumbers didn't want to be put in a position of wondering when they would be paid.
"Here you are, a plumber, and you've done the work, and now you're standing in the middle wondering 'When am I going to get my money?'" he said, "and then we done wasted a half day or a whole day."
There was also the question of the $500 cap, which was said not to be nearly enough if the job was complicated.
"You're going to charge $250 just to crawl under a house," Cope said, talking to the plumber standing in front of him. "And then you aren't going to be able to do much more than a few patches for the other $250."
The plumber agreed, saying $500 "wouldn't touch" the cost of repairs if there were a multitude of water line breaks, which could be behind walls or in the attic.
Across town at Jefferson Supply Co. another plumbing supply store, located on Plum Street, co-owner Danny Allen told a similar story of why plumbers were not eager for the extra work that Liberty was paying for.
Allen said there were good plumbers in Pine Bluff, but many are busy in Sheridan and Monticello where houses are being built.
"It's hard to get a plumber to do anything," Allen said, adding that many are not interested in crawling under houses.
"Some would say, 'My belly is too fat. If I get up under there, I may not get out,'" Allen said with a laugh.
For those kinds of jobs, Allen said, a handy person fits the bill.
"A lot of these kinds of jobs are not that difficult," Allen said. "It's not hard to find a good handyman to go in there who can fix it and fix it right."
Preferably, it would be someone who can manage the rigors of working under a house that may be so low to the ground that it requires crawling on his or her stomach, he said.
"You've got to find someone younger, someone willing to do it that's hungry for that kind of work."
Lamont Davis, a Liberty representative, was asked earlier in the week how many plumbers are needed to bring the repair project to a swift completion. His answer was 25 or 30.
Allen scoffed at the figures.
"He'll be lucky to find five to seven," he said, adding that no matter who was needing them, plumbers are hard to find.
"I have a hard time finding one myself," Allen said.