HOT SPRINGS -- A front-end loader tumbled into Lake Catherine at a construction site near Carpenter Dam on Monday afternoon, prompting a response from local agencies to contain any fluid spills from the partially submerged equipment.
The incident occurred on the southern shore of Lake Catherine, where Diamond Construction Co. is installing a new water main.
The Lake Hamilton Fire Department, which responded to a call for service at around 3:36 p.m. Monday, set about containing oil and fuel leakage from the submerged equipment, which was recovered from the lake early Tuesday afternoon.
According to Lake Hamilton Fire Chief Doug Davey, the operator of the vehicle was transported to a local hospital before first responders arrived, and no information regarding the condition of the operator was available on Tuesday.
The city of Hot Springs said Tuesday the North Little Rock contractor was connecting a 24-inch ductile iron main to the section suspended underneath Carpenter Dam Bridge when the incident occurred. The front-end loader appeared to have fallen down a steep hill and into the lake.
The city contracted Diamond for more than $15 million last year to install 10 miles of 24-inch diameter pipe for the $150 million Lake Ouachita water supply project. The pipe will carry water treated at the new plant the city is building in the Amity Road area, at 125 Randall Road.
"One of our first priorities was to ensure that operator was taken care of," Davey said.
"So we took our attention to the environmental aspect, we used some ... soaps and Dawn (dishwashing liquid) ... to help dissipate the petroleum products in the lake," he said.
"We also put oil booms up around any spills or any leakage within the wreck."
He said Diamond Construction dispatched a recovery team to extract the loader, which weighs "22,000 pounds," from the lake.
"Diamond Construction has a team en route from out of town, I believe Vilonia ... I know they are supposed to be bringing some large equipment, I believe some large, heavy wreckers," he said.
The Garland County Department of Emergency Management, firefighters and county inspectors were on-site "to make sure everything goes right," Davey said.
The recovery team arrived at around 11 a.m. Tuesday, and the equipment had been pulled out of the lake by the afternoon.
A crew works to extract a partially submerged front-end loader from Lake Catherine Tuesday afternoon. (The Sentinel-Record/James Leigh)
Volunteers with Lake Hamilton Fire Department and workers watch as a front-end loader is extracted from Lake Catherine Tuesday afternoon. The heavy equipment tumbled into the lake Monday afternoon. (The Sentinel-Record/James Leigh)