Leak springs up near park
Staff writer
A water pipe broke at 2 p.m. Wednesday outside Central Bank, causing water to spring up from underground and leak onto the street.
Flooding was most prominent in the alley behind the bank between 3rd and 2nd St.
Public works director Tim Makovec said the pipe itself did not appear faulty, and he was unsure what caused the break.
“Ground shift, maybe,” he said. “The earth moves.”
The city put out an alert on their social media channels asking the public to conserve water. Apartments and businesses near the leak found themselves unable to switch on their taps.
Six workers were called in to shut off the valve and repair the break, using a John Deere excavator, an electric pump, and their bare hands.
Approximately four hours later, the break was repaired and the water came back on.
Public works also covered some of the damaged area around the leak with thick gravel.
“It’s just putting the road surface back until we re-concrete it,” Makovec said.