Boring Accident Results in Water Main Break, City Crews Repair Damage

Water was shooting up to the power lines on Southland Blvd. and Green Meadow Dr. this morning, when a contractor hit a water main while boring on Southland.

Low water pressure was reported in Bentwood and near the airport due to the break, however city crews have now isolated the problem and shut off the main.

Assistant Water Utilities Director Kevin Krueger said now that the problem has been isolated between two pumping stations, pressure should be restored to affected areas shortly. Businesses and residences shouldn’t be affected by work on the main now that it’s been isolated, Krueger said.

“There's no services, there's no other feeding lines in this area, so we shouldn't be affecting anyone, they should be back in service,” he said. “We're trying to make sure that's the case.” 

How much water was expended in the break cannot currently be accurately estimated Krueger said, because the work is not done. Repair work on the pipe could take several hours.

“What they're doing right now is they're doing what we call 'working a valve,’” Krueger explained. “They've got the valve closed and shut off most of the water, so they're going to go back and open up the valve a little bit and try and get whatever is in that valve channel flushed out so that we can get a better seal.”

Once crews finish working the valve they’ll have to wait two hours for emergency locators to come out and determine if there are any gas, cable or electric lines in the area before digging can begin. Only after the area surrounding the pipe has been dug out and the men have a look at it will they be able to assess the damage, Krueger said.

“If we have to get parts, that could really extend our time,” he said. “This is a [30 inch] concrete steel cylinder pipe so we'll probably end up just welding a patch on it. It will be something that we build ourselves. I don't think we're going to have to order parts, but you never know until you get down in there.”

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Update 5:30 p.m.

A message from the City of San Angelo: "Water service lost as a result of the Southland main break has been fully restored. We appreciate the immense patience and grace displayed by our water customers."