Times Editor
LAKE BUTLER — The city of Lake Butler experienced serious water issues on Jan. 12 and 13, with most of the city without water for more than 29 hours while public works crews worked round the clock to remedy the problem.
It all started when Kinetic workers were digging near the Union County Public Library on Southeast Fifth Avenue in Lake Butler and hit a water main about 2 p.m. on Thursday. Lake Butler public works employees quickly responded and shut off the water, with Kinetic also sending assistance as well, but city workers had to bring in heavy equipment to dig down a large enough area to work on the main.
The break was found in a 10-inch PVC main line and workers began to work to repair it. Repairs went on through the night, despite the cold and stormy weather. Finally, about 7:30 a.m. Friday morning the line had been replaced and the repair was complete. The water was turned on and the pressure of the rush of water broke another main line on the far side of the elbow that the first broken line had fed into. The water was turned off again.
The public works inventory did not contain a second 10-inch PVC pipe of sufficient length to replace another section of the main, so phone calls began to locate another piece of the necessary length. One was finally located and a worker was sent to pick it up. By 2 p.m. , city workers had been on site for 24 hours and the city called W.W. Gay Corp. to come in and finish the repair. All of the workers, with the exception of Public Works Director Cody Douglas went home, with Douglas remaining to see the repair through. City Commissioner Melissa Hendrix, who had been on the scene since Thursday also remained at the site.
Repair work continued, first preparing the area for the arrival of the pipe and then installing it. Water service was restored at about 7:15 p.m. Friday night.
Any time a water line breaks there is a mandatory 24-hour boil notice issued once the break in repaired and the water is turned back on. This is due to the possibility of the substrate the line is buried in entering the system, carrying microorganisms of various types. In a system such as is found in Lake Butler, a water tower is used to help pressurize the system and assist in the flow of water through the lines. Often, the tank on the top of the tower must be drained as well to avoid any chance of contamination.
The lack of water affected most of the city, with restaurant and most business closing on Thursday and not opening on Friday. The Union County Courthouse and related offices were closed on Friday. The Union County School District, unaffected on Thursday due to the time of the break closely coinciding with the normal release time, had to evacuate some students to offsite locations outside the city water service area on Friday (see related story). Spires IGA remained open and the lines were full on Friday, with customers purchasing bottles water and other beverages.
