Main breaks fixed; Water service to 40-50 homes interrupted until early Wednesday morning.

City Manager David Martin walks by as the Fort Scott Public Works Department attempts to shut off a main water line at Seventh and Osbun after it broke on Tuesday. The main was one of two that burst suddenly on Tuesday evening.(Kaitylyn Doherty/Submitted Photo)

City crews spent several hours addressing breaks in two water lines that occurred Tuesday evening.

Public Utilities Director Richard Cook said the biggest break took place on Osbun between Sixth and Seventh streets, and the other occurred on Ninth Street between Main Street and Scott Avenue on the south side of Frary Field near Fort Scott High School. Both leaks took several hours to repair.

The combination of an aging infrastructure and spike in the water system caused the breaks, which took place around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, officials said.

Fort Scott Public Works and Public Utilities employees worked for several hours Tuesday to shut off a main water line at Seventh and Osbun streets. (Kaitlyn Doherty/Submitted Photo)

"We believe what happened is a valve to the water tower shut when it wasn't supposed to and that's what caused the spike in pressure," Cook said.

Cook said crews monitor the pressure in the system, and occasionally, sudden changes in pressure create what is called a "water hammer," causing weak spots in the pipe to rupture. Both breaks occurred about five seconds apart.

Because there were two main breaks, workers from both the Public Works and Public Utilities departments combined to fix both pipes. First, water flow was shut down so the pipes could be worked on. On one pipe, the valves did not completely shut off so crews had to work with water still coming out, Cook said.

Before excavating around the pipe, it must first be determined that it is safe to dig so as not to impact any other utility lines in the area.

For the Osbun water line, crews were able to clamp and seal the rupture in the pipe. That pipe has had several leaks in recent years and may need to be replaced. At one point, pressure in that pipe shot water about 48-50 feet in the air, Cook said.

Four individual leaks were found in a five-foot section of pipe on Ninth Street, and workers replaced it with a new section, he said.

Both leaks were fixed by about 1 a.m. Wednesday. Residents in areas where the breaks took place were without water while the problems were being addressed.

Some 40-50 homes were impacted.

"There was a pretty good-sized area on both situations where people were out of water for awhile," Cook said. "We had everything back on at 1 a.m. We don't leave until we get people's water back."

City Manager Dave Martin said city officials try to make citizens aware of breaks in water mains by going door-to-door to inform them.

Martin said he commended city workers, many of whom had already put in a full day's work when the incidents occurred, for their efforts in responding to and repairing the breaks.