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A worker watches as a water pump removes water from a hole where a water main broke Monday around 11:30 a.m. The break caused The Village Summit, the Ramsey Student Center and the University Health Center to shut down while the pipe was being repaired.

Construction work breaks water main

Breaks impact 'probably 2,500 students'

By: MANDI WOODRUFF & DIANA PEREZ

Posted: 10/9/07

More than 500,000 gallons of water were lost Monday after a construction worker broke a city water main in East Campus, a University Physical Plant worker said.

The break occurred in the midst of a near-historic drought in North Georgia and spewed the equivalent of 71.5 inches of rain.

"Obviously any water that we lose is water that could have been used," said Gary Duck, the director of Athens-Clarke County Public Utilities in a phone interview Monday afternoon.

The Anderson & Company contractor struck the pipe while he was excavating the ground at the Lamar Dodd School of Art at 11:30 a.m., said Scott Bailey, a University plumber. The impact left a two-inch hole in the pipe, which was 10 inches in diameter, Bailey said.

"The pipes were all marked," Bailey said. "They were going to dig to install a vault of water and the contractor moved the location of the vault over 12 feet."

The damaged pipe was eight feet away from the marker used to designate a water main, Bailey said. At least three agencies, including ACC Public Utilities, must sign off to ensure that water main pipes have been correctly identified and marked, he said.

"This was an accident," Bailey said. "(The contractor) followed all the rules."

The leak was secured and clamped at 2:30 p.m. Duck said Athens was not affected by the break, although it involved a city pipe.

Repairs took longer than three hours because workers could not isolate the leak, said Jim Nielson, assistant director of the University Physical Plant.

"The city thought they would be able to isolate it to a few of the buildings and they weren't able to do that," he said. "They ended up having to cut off two main valves."

Eight buildings lost water service, including Ramsey, the University Health Center, the East Village Dining Commons, the Printing Department, the School of Music, Four Towers, the Performing Arts Center and the Georgia Museum of Art, said Vice President of Public Affairs Tom Jackson. Some buildings were temporarily closed.

Seven of the eight buildings have about 75 water valves and Ramsey has "a couple of hundred," Bailey said. The University workers check each valve before restoring water service, he said, costing the University about $25 per valve.

Johnny Waller, a junior from Milledgeville, was on his way to Ramsey when he heard that doors would be closed until further notice.

"It disappointed me because every day I go to Ramsey at the end of my classes," he said. "I have a set schedule."

The East Campus Village dorms were not closed, but Caitlin Ward, a sophomore from Dalton, reported to the ECV Community Desk around noon that the water running from her kitchen sink was "iced tea colored."

Bailey said brown water is common after water-main breaks because sediment builds up in closed pipes and mixes with water when the pipes are turned on again.

"We impacted probably 2,500 students this evening," said J. Michael Floyd, director of food services, of the closure of ECV dining commons. He said at 1:30 p.m., the dining commons completely lost water service. Students were turned away by management and signs were posted at the entrance, he said. Doors remained closed until 5:30 Monday.

Water service was restored to affected buildings Monday afternoon.