OCWD completes new waterline installation

The installation of the permanent waterline underneath Interstate 165 (formerly the William Natcher Parkway) at Cromwell Road was completed Tuesday afternoon nearly two weeks after a major rupture in the 12-inch line caused more than 2,300 Ohio County Water customers to be without water for several days before a temporary line was installed.

Ohio County Water District General Manager Eric Hickman said crews began connecting the permanent waterline on Cromwell Road around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning. Customers were expected to be without water approximately 6-8 hours during the reconnection process. Water was service was restored around 2:30 p.m.

The break occurred on March 6. The casing around the damaged pipe had failed and the plastic pipe inside could not be removed and replaced, resulting in a whole new line having to be installed. On March 10, a temporary line was placed up, over and across the Cromwell bridge to provide water to the area.

Since the temporary line was installed, crews with Luttrell & Sons contracting and Ohio County Water District have been working around the clock, Hickman said, to get the new line installed.

Last Wednesday and Thursday, the contractor completed the fusion of the permanent pipe and drilled underneath the parkway to put in the line. The weather on Saturday delayed work. Two crews were out digging Monday to make the connections and Tuesday they began tying in the lines on both sides of the interstate, Hickman said.

OCWD did experience a break in the temporary line around midnight Monday morning, but the lines were repaired and pumps were back online before 6:30 a.m., Hickman said.

Hickman said once the water went back on customers should be able to see water more quickly than with the temporary lines.

“To pressurize those lines back up, it will take a little bit of time … We will be able to pump and put more pressure and more flow because this is the permanent fix because the line is going in as designed,” he said. “We should be able to operate at full capacity and should see it a little bit faster (than with the temporary line).”

Hickman commends his staff and the contractor for how hard and quickly they have worked on the project. Construction to put in a new line could typically take from two to four weeks depending on the conditions. This project moved much faster.

“They’ve been working around the clock. I have to commend not only our own staff but Luttrell’s as well. They have been a tremendous help. They pulled off another job they were on and put all their efforts here in this emergency situation,” Hickman said. “There are some things we learned from this, but I think we did a tremendous job working together and doing things that are out of their normal responsibilities, working around the clock.”