Main Street water repairs

A city crew worked all day Dec. 5 to repair a crack in the 12-inch water main along Main Street at the Island Street intersection. Excavation to reach the water main began at 8:30 a.m. and the six-member crew remained on the job until approximately 6:30 p.m.

Traffic cones remained in southbound curb lane Thursday morning while the crew finishes backfill on the project.

Public Works Director Matt Hammer said the problem was a six-inch crack in the water main. He said the main, which was believed to have been installed in the 1950s, had been placed over what appeared to be a former brick manhole. The manhole had been filled, but the fill apparently settled over the years and left the water main suspended.

The repair work knocked out water service from Island to Wall Street and to the courthouse.

The city's main water supply line comes north from the pump station along Mill Street and connects with Main via Island Street. The closed shutoff is located at Island and the courthouse main is after the cutoff.

Water service at the jail and Public Service building remained, and courthouse employees were advised with a memo.

Hammer said they sustained a setback when a special piece of equipment, called a pipe breaker, failed. The breaker allows the crew to make an even cut around the circumference of a main. With the breaker out of service, the crew had to use a saw to cut the main.

During the shutdown, crew members cleaned valve boxes located along the water lines south to Wall Street.