The boil water notice, as posted on the door of City Hall on Saturday (1-18-17). Because it was so localized, the notice was hand-delivered to residents. (KCAW photo/Kwong)
Sitka residents living along Halibut Point Road near Blatchley Middle School were placed under a boil water notice Friday (3-17-17), after a water main ruptured in the vicinity.
The school itself, and AC Lakeside Grocery were also under the notice, as well as Crabapple and Lakeview drives.
Crews were working on the repair by 12:30 in the afternoon Friday. They located the break and made repairs by 9 that evening.
Williams believes that these bolts were installed in a project in 1995. “Nowadays, we build to a higher standard,” she said. (CBS photo/Shilo Williams)
Deputy environmental superintendent Shilo Williams says the bolts connecting the valve between the main and Crabapple Drive are to blame for the break. She believes the bolts were installed as part of a project in 1995.
Williams says that Sitka builds to a higher standard than it did twenty-two years ago. The bolts on the replacement valve are stainless steel.
Sitka experienced a series of three water main breaks in January this year, all during bitter cold weather. Friday’s break also occurred during cold conditions, but Williams says the ruptures and the weather are coincidental. The affected pipes are far below the frostline.
The boil water notice was lifted at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Blatchley Middle School principal Ben White says neither the break or the notice caused a disruption at his building. Students were away on spring break when the rupture occurred, and all repairs complete by the time school resumed.
