Vancouver Water Utility Continues To Assess Impacts Of Broken Water Main Hit By A Contractor Saturday (Photo) -10/05/20
Vancouver, Wash. – The City of Vancouver’s Water Utility is continuing to assess impacts of flooding Saturday evening after a contractor struck an 18-inch cast iron water main while working on a construction site for the new Vancouver Innovation, Technology and Arts (VITA) Elementary School at 1007 E. Mill Plain Blvd. Total water loss from the break is estimated at 1.4 million gallons.
The contractor, Nutter Corp., had exposed the water main in order to run other utilities for this project underneath. While compacting the trench following the utility installation, the contractor struck the top of the water main, causing a small leak that quickly grew to about 2 feet in length. This same water main was scheduled to be replaced and relocated on the site within the next two weeks as part of the development project.
Vancouver Water Operations crews were called to the scene at about 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3. With the private contractor, they started planning and gathering materials to temporarily repair the pipe, but were unable to do so as the break suddenly grew to roughly 10 feet in length, causing water to flood the area quickly. By 6:30 p.m., the parking lot and basement at the nearby Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries’ (FVRL) Operation Center was flooded.
City crews were able to isolate the area where the break occurred and shut off water. Only Hudson Bay High School and the Library’s Operation Center were affected by the shutdown; all other water customers supplied by this main line remained in service.
Once the water had been slowed, City and contractor crews worked together to repair the line. The repairs were completed shortly before midnight Saturday.
Water to the 18-inch main is supplied by Vancouver’s Water Station 1, located near Fort Vancouver Way and Fourth Plain Boulevard, which provides about one-fourth of the community’s drinking water, as much as 2 billion gallons per year.
Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries is also in the process of assessing the extensive damage from the broken water main to its Operations Center, vehicle bays and loading dock. Please visit the FVRL website for more information: http://www.fvrl.org.
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