Overnight shifts have become routine for Emporia’s Underground Utilities Department as water main breaks continue across town.
Crews had to work overnight to repair several water mains after they broke last week, and they had another one early Monday as a 6-inch line failed in the 300 block of Sylvan around midnight. It took about seven hours for crews to find the source point of the leak and get initial repairs done. The break happened just north of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad track, but Underground Utilities Supervisor Mike Dvorak says there were no apparent issues under the tracks.
Public Works crews dealt with eight water main seepages or outright failures last week alone after there were none in the first nine days of July. There were 10 water main breaks in July 2017.
