Water service has been restored to a neighborhood in west Emporia that had to contend with a water main break Tuesday morning.
Emporia Street Supervisor Mike Dvorak tells KVOE News service along Prairie between 15th and Prairie Park Lane went back online around 4 pm. Service went offline around 9 am when a 20-inch line failed, rupturing the Prairie Street asphalt in several locations just south of 15th. The number of affected customers has not been released.
While water service is back up and running, it may be several days before traffic is back to normal. Dvorak says there was significant sub-surface damage because of the water flow, and it’s unclear whether the concrete below the street surface may have to be replaced in addition to the asphalt. The street was already blocked to all but neighborhood residents because of a separate project to replace a 20-inch main on West 12th between Prairie and Grand.
Counting a break in the 1100 block of West Ninth on Monday night, Emporia has had 11 water main breaks or new seepage spots since July 9. Emporia had 10 breaks in all of July 2017.
3 pm Tuesday: Work continues on broken water main near 15th and Prairie
Prairie Street between 15th and Prairie Park Lane remains closed Tuesday after a major water main break developed Tuesday morning.
The 20-inch line failed around 9 am. Crews were able to shut off the water main flow, so the impact to the number of customers has been minimal.
This follows a separate water main break in the 1100 block of West Ninth around 10:30 pm Monday. Further details on that specific incident are pending.
11 am Tuesday: Underground Utilities repairing two new water main breaks
Emporia’s Underground Utilities Department has been busy with water main breaks since early last week, and they are working to repair another break Tuesday.
A 20-inch line failed on Prairie just south of 15th around 9 am. The apparent force of the break caused several pavement splits between 15th and Prairie Park Lane.
Underground Utilities crew members on site say they were able to shut down the water flow in that area of Prairie, so the impact should be minimized. However, work is now underway to find the breakage point and make the needed repairs to both the pipe and the street.
This follows a separate water main break in the 1100 block of West Ninth around 10:30 pm. Further details on that specific incident are pending.
Emporia has now had 11 water main breaks or new seepage locations since July 9 after not having any for the first eight days of the month. This surpasses the city’s total of 10 water main issues from July 2017.
City officials blame a combination of heat, ongoing drought and aging infrastructure for the recent issues.
Photos by Chuck Samples/KVOE News
{gallery}Water Main Break July 17 2018{/gallery}
