WATER LINE LEAK LEAVES SCOTT CITY HIGH AND DRY

SCOTT CITY -- A water line leak that caused some Scott City residents to go without water in their homes for nearly two days has been isolated.

City officials estimate that between Thursday morning and Saturday afternoon, several million gallons of water poured from a leak in one of the city's newest 10-inch water lines.

Though water was restored to most residents by about 1 p.m. Saturday, city officials are advising people to continue to boil water today.

Water was pouring from the leak at a rate of about 500 gallons per minute, officials estimated. In order for city workers to isolate the leak, the water supply to most areas of the town had to be shut off. Areas that did have water had "just a trickle."

A marked drop in water pressure was first detected Thursday morning, said Harold Uelsmann, the city's public works director. By early Saturday afternoon, workers had determined a leak existed somewhere in the newly constructed 10-inch water line leading to the Nash Road industrial area on the city's north end.

"We don't know if it's in one of the ditch crossings or not, but we do know it is in the line leading to the industrial park," Uelsmann said. He explained that when the water supply to the industrial areas was shut off, pressure in the city's main water gauge went up considerably.

City crews and volunteers were working around the clock trying to isolate the leak, he said.

"It's a process of elimination," he said. "We're shutting off water to different sections of town and monitoring the water pressure."

Residents of what was formerly Illmo were without water from 6 p.m. Friday to mid-afternoon Saturday, city officials said.

"Other areas had just a trickle," said Mayor Shirley Young. Residents who did have water were being asked to conserve it. A boil water order has been in effect since Thursday.

Car washes and laundromats in the town were shut down, Young said. Several other businesses were temporarily shut down while the water supply was shut off.

Uelsmann said if the leak is in the line crossing one of the ditches leading to the industrial park, it may have been triggered by Tuesday's heavy rains. The marked increase in the amount of water running through the creeks could have caused the break, he said.

"It's really speculation right now," Uelsmann said. "Until we find the leak, we just won't know."

Uelsmann said isolating the leak was difficult because the water was not surfacing. Workers speculated the water was either spilling into a creek or into an underground cavern.

Water in the line leading to the industrial park was shut off Saturday afternoon. Uelsmann said businesses in the area will have to go without water until the leak is fixed.

The water supply to the rest of the city was restored Saturday and should return to normal pressure within days, he said.

Uelsmann said the line leading to the industrial park crosses two ditches. One of the crossings was constructed by city crews and one by P.R. Developers, a contracting company hired by the city to construct water and sewer lines to the industrial park.

He said it will probably be Monday before city crews will attempt to locate the leak. Until it's fixed, he said, the industrial park will be without water.

Businesses in the industrial area have had city water for just a short time. Construction of the 10-inch line considered crucial for the growth of businesses in the area began in August and has been completed only about a month.