By DAVE SCHULTZ
Bluffton Utilities workers had a challenge to meet Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning as they were called out to repair two water main breaks.
Crews were quite familiar with the larger of the two breaks, as the main in the 100 block of West Wiley Avenue had failed before. The one on Indiana Street, however, was a new problem.
The West Wiley main carries water from city wells, of which three are in the Roush Park area, to the new water treatment plant south of the Harrison Plaza shopping center. The Indiana Street main carries finished water to the water tower at the intersection of Wiley Avenue and Indiana Street.
Hendricks said recent dry weather packed in the soil and gravel around the mains “like concrete.” Any movement at all could cause a break, and last night brought two of them.
There was no interruption of service, but due to the time of the breaks, there were few customers up to notice. Reduction of water flow on Indiana Street did cause a fire alarm to go off at the Grace and Mercy Transitional Housing facility at 1001 Clark Ave., a short distance south of the site of the water main break, sometime after 4 a.m.
Hendricks said the Bluffton Police Department notified the Water Department’s on-call employee at 8:50 p.m. Tuesday. Crews did not leave the sites until 5 a.m., Hendricks said.
Workers were back on the job Wednesday morning, Hendricks said.
The West Wiley Avenue water main break will be the subject of extensive work sometime in July, as it’s broken before and was paved within the last few weeks. Hendricks said about 20 feet of main will be replaced.
daves@news-banner.com
