Emporia city officials are assessing the damage after a waterline break in downtown Thursday night, while affected businesses are working to repair said damage.
An 8-inch waterline broke in the 10 block of West Ninth. Issues were first reported around 8 pm. The water flow was stopped before midnight.
Emporia City Manager Mark McAnarney thanked Public Works crews for their work in wind chills that went under -10 at times overnight.
Emporia Main Street Director Casey Woods says this affects scattered businesses and nonprofits on the west side of Commercial from Ninth all the way south to Sixth, with some potential for business impact north of Ninth as well. The Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce had over six inches of standing water. President and CEO Jeanine McKenna says there’s a lot of cleanup ahead, but the damage could have been worse.
The Lyon County History Center says it has four inches of standing water in its basement, where the archives are stored, but Curator Lisa Soller says there wasn’t much actual damage. She tells KVOE News the History Center planned for potential basement issues when they moved in five years ago.
At Designs by Sharon, owner Sharon Ewing is counting her blessings.
Twin Rivers Winery and Gourmet Shoppe owner Becky Smith had several inches of standing water, but tht has all drained away.
Other affected businesses include Casa Ramos, Flint Hills Music, Jack’s Lawn and Pool and Brown’s Shoe Fit — where manager Aaron Otto says his store had up to seven inches of water, but nothing of value was damaged and the water has since drained away.
Woods says some locations weren’t impacted. Emporia Main Street was on that list.
The Granada Entertainment District — the Granada Theatre, Granada Coffee Company, Sweet Granada and Emporia Arts Center — reported little to no issues Friday morning.
It’s no secret the city’s underground infrastructure is aging despite recent modernization efforts. McAnarney says research is underway that could lead to a long-term plan for replacing the city’s aging waterlines.
The 10 block of West Ninth is currently closed until further notice with a large concrete cutout that likely won’t be filled until the weather improves. The city is providing roll-off containers for affected businesses and nonprofits through the weekend. Those will be picked up Monday unless the current schedule changes.
We’ll continue to update this story on KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media through the day. Click here for KVOE News’ prior coverage from early Friday.
Photos by Tagan Trahoon/KVOE News
{gallery}021221 Waterline Tagan{/gallery}
Photos by Rebeca Herrera/Granada Theatre
{gallery}021221 Waterline Granada{/gallery}
Photos by Greg Jordan/Lyon County History Center
{gallery}21221 Waterline LCHC{/gallery}
Photo by Becky Smith/Twin Rivers Winery and Gourmet Shoppe
{gallery}021221 Waterline Twin Rivers{/gallery}
Photo by Casey Woods/Emporia Main Street
{gallery}021221 Waterline Main Street{/gallery}
