PULASKI CO., Ark. (KTHV) - Pulaski County roads crews are busy right now, working to prevent flooding ahead of Tropical Storm Isaac.
They've been out all week, clearing out clogged-up culverts and cross drains so roads and driveways don't washout.
It's the final stop of the day for this Pulaski County road crew Wednesday. Their target is fixing a driveway culvert along West Kanis Road, with no room for water to flow.
"If we get as much rain as is anticipated, it will all start coming across this road and wash this man's driveway, this whole driveway out," drainage foreman Donnie Williams said.
So to prevent that from happening, shovels begin the process to clear dirt away. It's followed by a little more muscle with a track hoe. And when it's dug down deep enough, there is a hose blasting water to get all that "muck" out on both ends.
"I had a couple of them where I had to fill up the truck twice to get through them and that truck holds about a 1,000 gallons of water," Williams said.
Donnie Williams says crews fixed a dozen of these driveway culverts all over the county Wednesday. But they've been at it since Monday, all in advance of Tropical Storm Isaac.
"Finding a lot of them, a lot of them, finding a lot more than I anticipated finding," Williams said.
County crews are also clearing drainage systems crossing roads so potential flooding doesn't consume them.
"I'm thinking that we just took care of avoiding a lot of damage over the past three days," Williams said.
They are working in damage control so the soaking comes now rather than later, with a clear path now in place.
Williams says they often rely on the public to let them know about these clogged up drainage systems; so if you have one, call the road department and let them know.
We also got word that Little Rock has staff checking flood-prone locations right now and Garland County is doing the same thing. We checked in with Saline and Faulkner counties too. Road department workers in those counties said that there were no crews out on Wednesday but they are keeping an eye out.
We also checked in with the Arkansas Geological Survey about the dangers of low-lying areas. And one of its water geologists said that the general rule of thumb is, if the area has flooded before, it will more than likely happen again.
Follow Max on Twitter @KTHVMax.