Major water line break prompts 'Do not water' notice

Officials are urging city residents to turn off sprinkler systems and limit unnecessary water use after a 33-inch water supply line broke Thursday evening.

The water line break was in Colleyville, north of North Richland Hills, said city spokeswoman Mary Peters. Initially, it affected about half the city's customers, but later the city extended the area affected to the rest of the city.

Colleyville also posted a notice on the city's website asking residents and businesses to limit nonessential watering, at least for the next day or so. Officials in North Richland suggested the repairs could extend through the weekend.

The Trinity River Authority, which operates the line, has been working to repair it.

Vanassa Joseph, a spokesman for the river authority, said the water main was 38 years old, corroded and broken in two places. The pipeline supplies treated water to North Richland Hills and Colleyville.

Colleyville City Manager Jerry Ducay said the breaks were about a quarter-mile apart.

Repairs to the pipe involved excavating and dewatering the trench, Joseph said. Crews determined that the age of the pipe and corrosion led to deterioration of sections of the pipe and that new sections would need to be welded in place, she said.

Before the water line can be restored to service, it needs to be disinfected and flushed, which takes about six to eight hours, Joseph said.

In the meantime, North Richland Hills is asking water customers to turn off their sprinklers, refrain from refilling swimming pools and fountains and limit water use.

"There should be no outdoor watering until further notice," the city said in a post on its website Friday afternoon.

"Right now, we don't know how long it's going to take" until it's fixed, Peters said.

She said the city has also suspended watering city parks and facilities until further notice and said the city will implement an emergency water ban if needed.

For its part, Colleyville redirected water flows and was monitoring its water tanks to ensure that water pressure and supplies were adequate to maintain uninterrupted service, Ducay said.

The city said that repairs are expected to continue into the weekend and that residents might experience a drop in water pressure.

"We're hoping that the second break will be fixed this evening ... or early tomorrow, and we should get back to a sense of normalcy tomorrow afternoon," Ducay said.

Jones said via email that full service should be restored by Sunday morning.

This story was originally published June 29, 2018 at 10:23 AM.