Busy Town

When we returned from our Vermont Visit, we found our neighborhood an absolute hive of activity. The repair cats and grader bears were absolutely swarming. Not only were the finishing touches being applied to the summer's biking/walking improvements, but something bigger had happened.

In our absence, the 36" water supply pipe that comes from Cobbs Hill Reservoir (~120 feet above us and a half mile away) had first leaked, then burst.

The effects were dramatic. A block and a half away became an absolute bathtub. We'd hear stories of four feet of water in basements and toilets turned into fountains of 💩 as the water forced its way across systems and Rosedale Street turned into Lakeview as a river of silt crept up it.

We attended an informational session where city reps describe what happened and heard ideas, complaints and stories from residents.

We learned some interesting facts:

• Our water pipes average slightly over 100 years old. There about 60 active leaks in the system per year (better than average) but there have only been two leaks in a 36" pipe in the last decade.
• They use an acoustic probe to listen for leaks. They had found a leak at the break location but thought it was from a smaller 12" distribution pipe.
• Almost 100,000 people were affected by the initial break. Pressure was dropping across the city. This means bathrooms at bars not flushing, restaurant kitchens shutting down, etc.
• It's important to keep pressure up. Positive pressure in the system keeps bad things (whispers 💩) from backflowing and contaminating the system. They rerouted water through the system and borrowed water from the Monroe County systems to keep pressure up. Because pressure never dropped too far, they were able to avoid a boil water advisory.
• Shutting the valve for the 36" pipe takes almost one hour. It has to be done slowly to take pressure off gradually and keep from damaging other parts of the system.

The last two weeks has been a welter of activity as the street has been blocked and a total reconstruction is underway.

Finally, this last Friday, less than two weeks after the leak, the street has been reconstructed, re-painted and re-opened.