By EMIL WHITIS
Daily Press Staff Writer
Several streets were blocked and some residents forced to go without water Monday as a result of two water main breaches on the same water line. The breaches occurred just 11 days after a water main ruptured on 10th Street between Richardson and Grand avenues.
At approximately 10:30 a.m., water began to gush from a storm sewer located at the intersection of Bullock Avenue and Sixth Street.
Crews from the Water Department were dispatched and quickly reached the scene. The section of street covering the water line was dug up, the damaged section of pipe cut out and a fitting used to reconnect the two sections of water line.
Artesia Director of Infrastructure Robert Forrest said the old water line had been improperly laid through a storm sewer sometime in the past, which allowed the line to vibrate when a heavy vehicle drove past on the street above. He said the vibration, along with the age of the water line, caused the pipe to become unstable and leak.
When the problem was secured at approximately 2:30 p.m., and water pressure restored to the line, another leak sprang up on the same line approximately one block northwest of the initial leak site, on the back side of a residence located at 802 Carper Dr. Forrest said tree roots along with the “pure age” of the pipe caused the second leak which was subdued at approximately 5:30 p.m. … For the rest of the story, subscribe in print and on the web.
