Repairs estimated between $8K and $12K

The city of West Linn responded to yet two more water main breaks in the last two weeks.

West Linn Public Works received a call on July 10 at 4 a.m. from Apollo Road that water was gushing down the road. A water main had broken at the intersection of Apollo and Summit Street.

When public works employees arrived at the site, they throttled the water down to minimize damage. Water was turned off to four homes for the majority of the day, and repairs were complete by about 5 p.m.

To make the necessary repairs, public works employees had to replace 15 feet of the deteriorated 6-inch water main, which had corroded. A large section of the road was damaged from the leak, according to Operations Supervisor Jim Whynot.

Within the next couple of weeks, the Public Works Department will need to make permanent repairs to the road.

Whynot estimates the costs of repairs are between $8,000 and $12,000. In the last year, Whynot said, the city has spent between $40,000 and $50,000 in repairs to deteriorated pipes.

On July 17, a contractor tore out a 6-inch water main in the northern Robinwood neighborhood and water was turned off for a few hours for those along Old River Drive north of Robin View Drive. The valve that feeds Cherokee court broke in a partly closed position. According to the city, 56 homes were temporarily without water during the repair.

Also, city crews needed to clean the sewer line in that area due to the the silt and debris that flowed into the line at the break.

The line that was hit was mislocated, at no fault of the contractor.

Whynot said the city has water main breaks an average of or three times a month, but they tend to come in waves.