|
Millboro pipe bursts
BY GINA HAMILTON • STAFF WRITER
 | | Gordon Kay of Kennedy Construction clears sand off a water pipe early Monday on Lower Yard Road where a leak was discovered last Friday. (Recorder photo by Gina Hamilton) |
|
MILLBORO - A small leak in a section of the town's water line made it necessary to close off a short portion of the line along of Lower Yard Road last Friday. The leak was repaired Monday by 11:30 a.m.
"It's the first leak we've had in a long time. It wasn't severe," said John Mayberry, a member of the six-person board of directors of the Millboro Water Association. He said the leaking pipe was a short distance down from the railroad crossing.
The leak was discovered when water pooled in the side ditch along the road. "We looked at it Friday evening and knew we needed to alert people that water would be off until Monday," Mayberry said. A handful of residences were affected.
Repairs were made by Kennedy Construction of Millboro. Owner Donald Kennedy said the leak was at the lowest part of the system, which is gravity fed, and there was quite a bit of pressure.
"We used a repair saddle," Kennedy explained, "kind of like a band aid. It's a medal saddle and inside it has a rubber liner that applies pressure to the leak. It works."
Kennedy said the water pipe has probably been in the ground about 30 years and an occasional break could be considered normal.
The water system is owned by the town, according to Mayberry, operates with a 100,000-gallon water tank on Tunnel Hill. Bath County owns a 150,000-gallon tank in the Millboro Industrial Park. "We share them together," said Mayberry. "If one tank is down for maintenance, we use the other one."
In case of a suspected water line break, he suggested that a resident can make a report at the Millboro General Store, where someone usually knows a director to call.
| 
)