Drought blamed for water main breaks

By Randy Bell

Randy Bell
A Public Works crew repairs a broken water main on Pinehaven Drive.

With August’s notoriously dry weather, motorists on Pinehaven Drive may have been puzzled as to why the pavement along a stretch of the busy street just north of Northside Drive always seemed to be wet. The water wasn’t coming from the sky or a nearby sprinkler; it was seeping up from a broken water main under the street. And that’s been an ongoing problem during the summer drought.

“During an extended dry spell, we have more water main breaks,” says Clinton’s Public Works Director Phillip Lilley. “Some are bigger than others.”

The one on Pinehaven forced a one-day closure of both southbound lanes as City workers dug up the pavement and roadbed to stop the leak.

“I estimate we have repaired nineteen water mains [since] mid-August,” Lilley says. “My water maintenance division has endured an onerous couple of weeks.”

He said the crews are still working to catch up. With the Pinehaven repairs, Public Works was hoping to fix the problem before the main completely blows, resulting in major damage. Water lines break during dry weather because of shifting soil.