Water Line Break Prompts Dark Dig on Doramor

A work crew logged a quick response time Saturday night when a six-inch water line running under Doramor Street near Dansel Avenue suddenly broke.

John Osborne, Central Maintenance utilities manager, said the break was reported by neighborhood residents just after 9 p.m. to , who in turn notified the service department.

A three-man work crew and heavy equipment were on the scene by 9:15 p.m., shutting down water service in the neighborhood to allow them to repair the break.

"We were out there fairly quickly. We keep people on call so they’re ready to go and we keep our equipment loaded up," Osborne said. "You can't predict when these things are going to happen, so you just have to be ready."

He said that other than the break, the six-inch ductile iron water line was in good shape.

"It had snapped all the way around. They cleaned it up, put one clamp on it and put it back in service. The water was turned back on by 11:30 p.m.," Osborne explained. A small number of households were affected.

Osborne said weather conditions are often the culprit behind such breaks.

"We see more breaks when it starts getting cold out on a regular basis," he said, adding that the work crew lucked out since the air temperature that night wasn't bad for working outside. "When the weather is below zero, it’s a lot tougher."