Dateline: June 26, 2003

Broken main leaves city without water

By Ashlee Kidd, Clarendon Enterprise

Many Clarendon residents were left without water or with very low water pressure Wednesday afternoon after city workers uncovered a broken water main on Jefferson Street.

The broken main was discovered when the sheriff’s department reported that the street in front of the jail was sunk in and there could possibly be a leak.

“When the workers dug up the street there was water rushing out of the water main,” City Administrator Sean Pate said. 

In order to repair the leak, water pressure leading to the main had to be suspended.

“The water was filling up the hole so much that we had to shut down the water supply leading to the town,” Pate said.  “We also had to open a fire hydrant to relieve the pressure around the main.”

When the water main was originally installed, it had two two-inch water meters instead of one four-inch meter, which Pate says probably caused the problem.

“We replaced the meter and repaired the pipes,” Pate said.  “The meters that were there originally just could not handle the water pressure.”

Pate also says that the street in front of the jail should be repaired within the next week, and residents should not see any further hindrances with their water supply.

“We are letting the pipes and ground settle for a few days,” Pate said.  “There shouldn’t be any more problems with the water mains for quite some time.”