An inside look at Mayflower neighborhood affected by oil spill

MAYFLOWER (KATV) - Crews have been working around the clock since Friday's oil spill scrubbing the streets and driveways of the Northwood subdivision, which is where the pipe burst.{}Sunday they gave us an inside look at the progress they've made.

"This is a much better status than before when we had free standing oil, where the oil is puddled up," said Allen Dodson, Faulkner County Judge.

It's a sign that progress is being made. Friday afternoon well over 10,000 barrels of oil came spewing out of a ruptured Exxon pipeline covering the streets and backyards of this Mayflower neighborhood.

"The next step is going to be power washing," said Judge Dodson.{}"More than likely, I think we are doing some testing with some power washing right now with the techniques involved there."

Officials say stopping the oil from leaking into Lake Conway is their biggest accomplishment.

"We're approximately a mile from Lake Conway or at least from the cove," said Dodson.

But there's still the most important accomplishment to be made which is{}getting people back home. Although nearly 12,000 barrels of oil and water have been vacuumed so far,{}backyards are a much more challenging project to take on.

"The surface is still wet with oil, but the volume of oil is off the street," said Dodson. "Now that's separate from the oil that's in the backyards of our fine residents."

Officials still don't know when residents will be able to go home.

"first off, we got to get that up although it looks good for the street. We don't want to get it to get{}on them," said Dodson.

Crews will continue focusing on cleaning the streets and then start working on some of the homes and backyards.

CONTINUING COVERAGEClaims info released as Mayflower oil spill cleanup continues (Monday)Wildlife affected by Mayflower oil spill (Monday)History of ExxonMobil's Pegasus Pipeline (Monday)An inside look at Mayflower neighborhood affected by oil spill (Sunday)Hundreds of Mayflower residents demanding answers after major oil spill (Friday - Saturday)