Lewes dives for clues in main failure
A diver hit the water just south of the Savannah Road drawbridge in Lewes on the morning of Aug. 21, looking for clues as to why a water main failed and knocked out service to the entire city.
The 12-inch main gave out in the early morning hours of Aug. 20, meaning customers inside and outside city limits woke up with dry faucets.
“The dive team from Specialty Underwater Services assessed the condition of the main. They are working to develop a solution that can be implemented to best serve the Lewes community,” said Tom Panetta, BPW board president, in a statement issued Aug. 21.
Panetta said the team also checked out a second water main that crosses the canal that was repaired previously and remained offline to serve as a backup water main.
“The dive team confirmed that the repairs are in good condition, and we are preparing to bring the main online. BPW staff collected a water sample from this second water main which has been sent to the lab to be tested. Once the test results are received and meet the required standards, staff will work to bring the water main online and increase the flow to the beach side of the city. This will result in increased water pressure,” Panetta’s statement said.
The BPW is urging residents to conserve water and minimize the use of irrigation until pressure is restored.
BPW officials decided to issue a boil water order Aug. 20 in case there was any bacterial contamination.
The order was lifted less than 24 hours later, when the samples tested at a state lab came back clear.
Panetta said service was gradually restored to all customers by the afternoon of Aug. 20.
He said the pipe that was affected was one of four water mains that run under the canal. Two of those mains are located next to the drawbridge.
Panetta also confirmed that there was miscommunication about the impact the outage had on Beebe Healthcare.
He said the hospital does have its own wells, but only for its infrastructure, not for drinking water. He said Beebe had to bring in water tankers to connect to its system.
Panetta said BPW filed for an emergency permit with the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control eight months ago to replace another water main that crosses the canal farther south of the drawbridge.
While this incident does not have anything to do with that water main, he said, he will let DNREC know that they need to expedite the permit approval.
”The biggest takeaway from the city’s perspective is we got the information out to residents. It is safe to use and drink your water,” said Mayor Andrew Williams at the Aug. 22 mayor and council workshop. “There will be a debrief to see what lessons we can learn from this.”
