CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It looked like a major problem, but as spectacular as the aftermath appeared, West Virginia American Water Company says a problem along MacCorkle Avenue near Frontier Communications Tuesday morning wasn’t that big an issue.
“We got the call in the early morning hours and our night man responded to it. He quickly realized it wasn’t affecting any customers, it wasn’t affecting tank levels and it wasn’t blocking lanes of traffic,” said West Virginia American Water Company Spokesperson Laura Jordan. “So as soon as our valve crew reported in this morning we sent them out to make the repairs.”
The fitting where a small line tapped into a water main came apart. The break caused water to shoot high into the air and toward the Kanawha River.
“There’s quite a big of water pressure behind it so it creates quite a geyser when that happens,” Jordan said.
The break ran for a couple of hours until crews came to replace the broken valve as their first order of business on the day shift. Jordan didn’t know how much water was lost in the break, but stressed it caused no adverse impact to service for customers in the area.