White Oak Public Works personnel, police officers, firefighters, contractors and others attend to a 12-inch water main break Thursday morning after a boring crew reportedly breached the line, causing a community-wide water outage and boil water notice.
In addition to White Oak’s community-wide water outage and boil water notice, a portion of North White Oak Road will have to be removed and replaced after a dig breached a 12-inch water main Thursday morning.
Temporarily shutting off the water supply for repairs, city leaders urged residents to fill containers as quickly as possible. Anticipating restored flow by Thursday evening, a boil water notice stays in effect until after testing is complete, perhaps a day or more.
The break comes less than 48 hours after city council members unanimously-approved regulations for use of the city’s rights-of-way following a string of incidents caused by contractor crews.
“Yes, this is a major issue. Yes, another boring company. Yes, the whole city is without water,” White Oak City Coordinator Jimmy Purcell confirmed about an hour-and-a-half after the most recent incident began at 10:15 a.m. July 10.
A group of workers and equipment crowded around the break in the 1200 block of North White Oak Road. Public Works personnel, police officers and firefighters were all dispatched to help control the scene.
A worker marks the asphalt near a water main break in the 1200 block of North White Oak Road Thursday morning.
“SWEPCO had to be called, too, because it’s near their utility poll,” Purcell said. “There’s multiple agencies out there.
“White Oak Road itself has been compromised and they’re going to have to dig and replace the road in that area.”
It’s serious business, he added, and it’s going to take some time to calculate all the costs – personnel, equipment, materials and other resources.
“We’ll be out there for a while to take care of this. This is not a minor or moderate situation; this is a major situation. It’s an accident, but it’s a major accident, major cost.”
During their regularly-scheduled meeting July 8, White Oak council members were quick to sign-off on the community’s new rules for anyone wanting to dig in local easements.
Local officials report a rash of recent issues caused by crews, usually from outside the community. Reportedly, teams have been digging down with little or no advance notice or, apparently, research into their target sites.
“Everybody wants to put their stuff in our easements,” Purcell reminded council members. “It makes it somewhat difficult to get in there. Everyone’s utilities are crammed in this area – water, sewer, electrical, gas, fiber…”
The new regs include a severability clause as well as providing for penalties. Consequently, Thursday’s expenses were an immediate consideration.
The breach of a 12-inch water main on North White Oak Road July 10 forced a citywide water cut-off and also undermined the nearby roadway in addition to damage to surrounding properties.
“As a matter of fact, the company has already gotten in touch with their insurance,” he said, glad for the open lines of communication in this case. “They’ll be getting the bill for the whole entire situation.”
Meanwhile, getting water restored and the boil notice lifted takes time beyond the immediate repairs.
Per a community announcement, “To ensure destruction of all microbes, water for drinking, cooking, and making ice should be boiled and cooled prior to use. The water should be brought to a vigorous, rolling boil and then boiled for two minutes. In lieu of boiling, you may purchase bottled water or obtain water from some other suitable source.”
Purcell estimated as much as 48 hours for the boil notice to be lifted.
“I’m hoping sooner, but it could be Saturday before we’re back to 100 percent. Once it’s fixed samples have to be taken. Once the samples come back good we can lift the boil water notice.”
