Rupture temporarily shuts off Woodway Park water

Residents of Libby’s Woodway Park area were without water for a short time Tuesday, as a water main at the corner of Education Way and Parmenter Drive erupted, forcing city crews to shut it down. Water was restored after about an hour, water distribution supervisor Corky Pape said, but had no way to speculate as to the amount of water lost during the break.

The break occurred in an area with both an older pipe and a newer main, attached to a pressure release valve, Pape said. When the leak began Saturday afternoon, city crews were unsure which line was leaking, so they involved crews from the city’s contractor, Noble Excavating, in case the work was covered under the new line project’s warranty.

While decisions about the leaking line were being discussed, the line blew, sending water into the street Tuesday afternoon. Crews dug more than six feet into the ground at the intersection to access the ruptured pipe.

Pape said the city is currently deciding how to handle the situation. In all likelihood, Pape said, the city will abandon the approximately 1,100 feet of the old line. Two nearby apartment complexes are supplied from the old line, so they will need to be switched over to the new water main before the city can close off the old line.

“We’re going to abandon that section of old pipe, from Mahoney down,” Pape said. “We should be able to abandon about 1,100 feet of old thin-walled steel pipe.”

Until the specifics of the switch-over are worked out, Pape said the road will likely remain torn up at the intersection of Education and Parmenter.

“We need to think this through and make sure we do it right the first time,” he said.