Multiple Main Breaks Leave Several Layton Residents Without Water
Jul 4, 2019, 5:34 PM | Updated: 10:17 pm
LAYTON, Utah – One water main break quickly turned into a dozen, leaving as many as 200 homes in Layton without water at one point over the Independence Day holiday.
Around 200 homes were without water in the city after a failure in the pressure system, leading to around a dozen breaks in the water main.
Layton City spokesperson Steve Garside said they first learned about a problem around 8 a.m. Thursday, after the first reports of a break.
“Our crews isolated that leak to initiate the repairs, (and) about 30 minutes later we were told there was another leak,” Garside said.
After isolating the second leak, Garside said they learned about a third leak. At that point they determined there was a problem in the system.
“Generally with these they’ll isolate the pipe that’s broken and then the pressure regulating valves throughout the rest of the system maintain the proper pressure,” Garside said. “One of those valves malfunctioned and so it sent higher pressure to different parts of the area.”
In all, there were 12 breaks in an area between Antelope Drive and Cherry Lane, east of Fairfield Drive, though only 11 were related to the valve failure.
We are currently aware of the water main breaks and have crews working hard to repair them. All water should be turned…
Posted by Layton City Utah on Thursday, July 4, 2019
Crews found themselves digging up roads in several neighborhoods on the east side of town. They repaired the valve and were working to repair the main breaks. As of 4:30 p.m., about half of those were fixed. Water had been restored to about 40 to 50 of those homes.
Garside said they had no concerns about the safety of the water, though they said it may be a good idea to run the water for a few minutes to get the air and any dirt out of the lines.
“There may be a minimal amount of dirt in (the water), but we’re not worried about any health concerns because of how the water is treated,” said Garside.
Officials had originally projected the project to be completed by 10 p.m., but thunderstorms that passed through the area Thursday evening slowed work. Close to 50 households still did not have water as of 10:00 p.m., while others were dealing with low pressure.
Officials expected the system to be completely online by midnight.
UPDATE: Layton City says roughly 50 homes are likely to remain without water until MIDNIGHT now after the 12 water line breaks today. Officials say crews have been slowed by the weather. Latest @KSL5TV at 10p #KSLTV #Utah pic.twitter.com/zrXbEolYW1
— Andrew Adams (@AndrewAdamsKSL) July 5, 2019
