Repairs begin on broken water main

Repairs begin on broken water main as water continues to flow through it

POTTSTOWN >> Two days after a 20-inch water main was broken open by a construction crew replacing the King Street bridge, repairs were underway on Friday.

Workers at the site said the attempt to shut off the full flow of water to the main by closing two valves at the York and King street intersection was unsuccessful, just at a similar attempt Wednesday to close a valve at the bridge was also unsuccessful.

That left them with no choice but to begin making repairs with water still flowing through the pipe.

The upside of that circumstance is that the residents who would have been completely without water if the York Street valve was shut down will continue to have water while repairs are conducted.

However it’s still not water to be consumed, or used to wash hands — at least not yet.

At 5:11 p.m. Friday, the borough issued an alert reminding affected households that the boil water directive remains in effect.

“The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection requires two consecutive days of negative samples before the boil water advisory can be lifted,” according to the notice. “The second day test results will be available by tomorrow (Saturday) morning. Please continue to boil water for consumption and cooking until the advisory is lifted,” according to the notice.

The initial break affected between 10,000 to 15,000 people, according to an alert issued Wednesday by Montgomery County.

The water service area affected is described roughly as Grosstown Road in the west; to Armand Hammer Boulevard in the east; and from the Schuylkill River in the south; to roughly East Street in the north created the conditions that could allow for biological contamination to grow.

As of Friday evening, a boil water notice was also still in place for customers of the North Coventry Water Authority, which buys water in bulk from the Pottstown system.

In the meantime, free bottled water can be picked up at Goodwill Fire station, 714 E. High St., while supplies last.

A query sent to Pottstown Borough Manager Justin Keller Friday afternoon had not been returned by press time.

EVAN BRANDT — MEDIANEWS GROUP Soil is removed from above a water main break along Manatawny Creek and adjacent to the King Street bridge Friday in preparation for repairs.

EVAN BRANDT — MEDIANEWS GROUP Water is still oozing from the broken water main and into Manatawny Creek where a series of booms has been set up to try to capture the sediment.

EVAN BRANDT — MEDIANEWS GROUP Because water is still oozing from the water main, keeping water out of the hole while repair work is done will be a continuing concern.

EVAN BRANDT — MEDIANEWS GROUP Sections of pipe had already been removed as workers prepared to fix the water main Friday.