500,000 gallons lost in water main break

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Van Wert city water crews and other city employees worked from Friday night into Saturday afternoon to repair a water main break in front of the Van Wert County Historical Museum on N. Washington St.

According to Van Wert Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming, the break occurred at approximately 8:50 p.m. Friday

“What happened was the new 16-inch main crossed under the old cast iron one at the point of the break,” Fleming explained. “The bell on the old pipe settled enough to make contact with the new one and over 17 years, it applied enough pressure to split the 20-foot section of pipe.”

Fleming added the break caused the loss of over 500,000 gallons of water.

“We were fortunate enough to get it shut down before we lost all of our water,” he said.

The Van Wert Police Department closed Washington St. off from Sycamore Street to Brooks Avenue because of high water and detoured traffic onto Bonnewitz Avenue.

Crews worked through the overnight hours into Saturday morning and into the afternoon hours. All told, workers were at the scene for approximately 18 hours.

“I can’t say enough about our guys who came in to get this repaired,” Fleming stated. “We utilized guys from several departments. Also, credit goes to (Water Distribution Superintendent) Don Mengerink Jr. for maintaining his inventory to have the parts to make the repairs. A 16-inch main is not a size we have a lot of in the ground.”

Fleming also praised members of Van Wert County CERT, who provided traffic control throughout the entire ordeal. He also said water service was restored Saturday afternoon and approximately 15 homes in the immediate area were placed under a boil water advisory. They were notified Saturday morning with door hangers.

While the broken water main was fixed, more repairs are in store, specifically along N. Washington St.

“Obviously the road section is badly damaged and we will address those repairs soon,” Fleming said. “The water pressure lifted the 13 inches of pavement a foot across the road.”