Flooding causes water main break
Published 10:10 am Thursday, May 31, 2018
By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer
Approximately 100 Maplesville residents served by Chilton Water Authority were without water on the morning of May 31, following a water main break.
Jason Smith, general manager for Chilton Water, said the break was “due to the massive flooding of Mulberry Creek at County Road 45.”
Flooding of the creek washed away the banks taking the 16-inch wide waterline with it.
This left approximately 200 customers without water around 5:30 p.m. on May 30.
“We did some temporary work with an emergency crew to get the water on,” Smith said.
Smith said an emergency crew from North Alabama came to help put in the temporary fix, and water was restored to approximately 100 customers.
The high water levels made installing a permanent solution difficult because the waterline goes through the bottom of the creek. Smith said he hopes to have water restored to all customers by 5 p.m. on May 31.
The waterline runs one side of the County Road 45 bridge, and fiber optic cable for internet access runs along the other side, Smith said.
He said these cables were also impacted by the flooding .