Water service restored in Shepherdstown

April 07, 2010|By DAVE McMILLION

Water service has been restored in Shepherdstown following a water main break at the intersection of Princess and Washington streets Wednesday morning, according to Mayor Jim Auxer.

Water was restored as of 2:38 p.m., Auxer said.

Water service was disrupted in town after the 10-inch water pipe broke about 9:30 a.m., Auxer said.

Shepherdstown has dealt with a number of water line ruptures in recent years. Some of the town's water line system dates to the 1970s, and the town has worked with an engineering firm to determine which sections of lines need to be replaced, town officials have said.

The water main that broke Wednesday was a concrete and asbestos pipe, which is an older type water main, Auxer said.

Auxer said a work crew was operating in the area, but it was unclear whether that had anything to do with the break.

"It doesn't take too much," Auxer said.

The town has been making upgrades to its water line system in recent weeks, including replacing a line on Church Street, where there has been low water pressure problems over the years, officials said.

Shepherd University closed at noon Wednesday due to the water service disruption, the university announced on its Web site.

Repairs were expected to be completed to allow for the regular opening of classes on Thursday morning, the announcement said.

Last August, a 10-inch line ruptured in front of the town's water treatment plant on Princess Street, an official at the plant said.

The waterline ruptured about 30 feet from where a break occurred the previous year, town officials said.

Previous line breaks included one in November 2007, when a 12-inch line along Shepherd Grade Road near the Willowdale subdivision broke, leaving town residents without water as they began getting ready for the Thanksgiving weekend.

About a year and half before the Willowdale break, a waterline ruptured on the Shepherd University campus.

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