"Life is back to normal:" After 92 water main breaks in May, repairs are now complete
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- 92 water main breaks in Milwaukee in May! The series of water main breaks began when a leak was discovered on a water main located outside the Texas Avenue Pumping Station on May 17th. Now, everything's been fixed -- and a Bay View neighbor is getting a lot of the credit.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett says the repairs made at the end of June were completed ahead of schedule -- and under budget!
The city spent the first part of July testing the system, and on Thursday, July 10th, officials announced everything is back in working order.
Mayor Barrett and other city leaders gathered Thursday at the Texas Avenue Pumping Station -- this time, with good news about Milwaukee's water system.
"Life is back to normal. That`s the message. Life is back to normal," Mayor Barrett said.
That's after weeks of water main breaks that had repair crews working overtime in May.
There were 92 water main breaks in all. This, after the Howard Avenue Water Treatment Plant was shut down in mid-May -- after the leak was discovered on a water main outside the Texas Avenue Pumping Station.
The Texas Avenue Pumping Station pumps water from Lake Michigan to the Howard Avenue Water Treatment Plant.
Because the Howard Avenue Water Treatment Plant had to be shut down, the Linnwood Plant took on the extra load -- and the water pressure was increased to get drinking water to the entire city and beyond.
The leak was reported by Bay View resident Hawley Boyce.
"Just bubbling, just like you have a faucet turned on half way -- that`s about all that was coming out, but it was an indication of a leak someplace and if it`s the pumping station it could be a big problem," Boyce said.
Mayor Barrett on Thursday thanked Boyce's keen eye and willingness to call -- saying the problem could have been much worse if it wasn't fixed quickly.
And that's just what the city did.
"We quickly repaired those leaks, but made a decision that we really wanted to address the long-term problem and felt it was necessary for us to re-lie these pipes at a considerable cost," Mayor Barrett said.
The initial cost of the repairs to the Texas Pumping Station was $1.9 million, but the project came in under budget -- at $1.7 million.
The repairs were complete at the end of June, and last week, the pipe was tested.
"As far as this situation goes the pipe has been secured and it should have an easy 50 year life going forward from this pump station," Milwaukee Water Works Superintendent Carrie Lewis said.
That's welcome news for Boyce!
"It`s good to have it behind us," Boyce said.
Mayor Barrett says the 92 water main breaks cost $10,000 each to fix -- and unfortunately, that cost will be passed on to Milwaukee's water customers.
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