Fairfield suffering several water main breaks

FAIRFIELD — The city of Fairfield is in the midst of an extreme drought, and that is putting a major strain on the city’s water pipes.

The city has experienced a large number of water main breaks in August, 18 as of Aug. 17, just over one per day. That’s more than the city dealt with in the first seven months of the year combined.

Fairfield City Engineer and Public Works Director Melanie Carlson explained the science behind why droughts cause water main breaks. She said that when the ground dries out, the soil shrinks and moves away from the water main. This makes it easier for the pressurized water in the pipe to burst through a weak spot in the pipe, and that’s what has happened all over town this month.

Carlson said at least three breaks this month have been concentrated near the Roosevelt Community Recreation Center, and one just a block away at South Ninth Street and Jefferson Avenue.

“Those couple of blocks have been hit hardest,” she said.

The city’s water main system is set up so that there are valves about every two blocks, and that during water main breaks, the city only has to shut off water to a few blocks of residents at a time instead of the entire town.

In fact, the city doesn’t actually shut off the water completely even to fix a main break. Carlson said that the flow of water is turned down, but not off, to prevent anything from outside getting into the pipe. This means that workers get wet during the fix, but it avoids the need for a boil order.

For the last few years, one of the problem areas in town for water main breaks was South Main Street. That’s why the city hired a contractor to replace the main from Madison Avenue to the Immanuel Lutheran Church several blocks to the south. Motorists who drive down Main Street can see construction crews working on the road now, and should be mindful to slow down.

“This will give us a nice new water main all the way through on Highway 1 South,” Carlson said.

Carlson said all cities deal with water main breaks, and Fairfield is no exception. Unfortunately, Fairfield is in the part of the state that has been hit hardest by the current drought, and that’s why it is suffering through so many breaks this month.

“The breaks are going to continue until we get rani,” Carlson said.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com