Staff Report
Carter County Times
Utility crews dug up South Hord Street on Monday morning, looking for the source of a water leak that was reported in the early morning hours. Mayor Troy Combs said there weren’t supposed to be any mains in the area, so the water had to be coming from an unmapped line, or from a previously capped line that had broken or been improperly capped in the past.
Grayson Utilities superintendent Gerald Haney said they typically don’t experience many problems with capped lines freezing and breaking in the type of weather we’ve been experiencing because even as temperatures plummet, the snow on the ground acts as an insulator to keep chilling winds at bay. He said the department is more likely to experience breakage issues when the ground undergoes freeze and thaw conditions, which can shift pipes in the ground causing them to crack, break, and leak.
After repairs were completed Monday afternoon Haney confirmed that it was an unmapped main, one of the city’s older cast iron pipes, which had broken due to the freeze thaw conditions. He said more than 20 businesses and residences along Main Street were impacted, and placed on a boil advisory, during the work. This break was similar to a break on Saturday, also in one of the system’s older cast iron pipes, which impacted nine homes on Third Street. Haney said that replacing these older pipes along Robert and Mary is the focus on one of their ongoing improvement projects. Issues like these two recent breaks, however, highlight the need to continue improving and updating the water system throughout the city. (Photo by Jeremy D. Wells, Carter County Times)
