Water main breaks at critical point in distribution system

A ruptured water main means about 50 Enderby properties were without water for about eight hours Wednesday.

The line broke where it crosses the Shuswap River.

“We just noticed some changes with the pressures within our distribution system,” said Tate Bengtson, Enderby’s chief administration officer. “What was happening was our system started to work overtime as the pressure started to drop because of the break. It was just simply a matter of pinpointing the location of it and it was determined as we isolated our valves that it is was happening with our crossing under the river.”

Scuba divers from Salmon Arm were brought in to inspect the damage.

The affected properties are east of the Enderby bridge along Enderby-Mabel Lake Road.

They will be under a boil water advisory for the foreseeable future, as plans are in the work to fix the pipe.

Bengtson said a temporary source of untreated water, about 5.5 km away from the bridge, will service the homes.

The pipe that burst is 50-years-old, according to Bengtson, and was slated for replacement this fall.

Now that the pipe has broken, the project will be done as soon as stakeholders are consulted and permits are granted, said Bengtson.

The money for the repair was already approved.