Cold Weather Blamed for Tennessee Air Force Base Water Leaks

Officials at Arnold Air Force Base in southern Tennessee say frigid temperatures are impacting Arnold Engineering Development Complex.

The colder-than-normal winter weather is being blamed for 31 water leaks resulting in about $200,000 in damages.

While $235,000 isn’t cheap, AEDC Civil Engineer John Laviolette says it could’ve been much worse.

Laviolette says AEDC’s power supplier, the Tennessee Valley Authority, faced record power demands in January that required constant partnering with TVA to ensure an adequate power to fully implement a freeze protection program.

AEDC worked with TVA to obtain an additional four megawatts of power to supplement freeze protection measures. Four megawatts is enough electricity to supply over 2,000 average homes for one day.

Laviolette says leaks occurred primarily in areas not normally impacted by freezing conditions.