A water main was damaged at a construction site Monday morning, knocking out water service to about 10 customers and sending discolored water to an undetermined number of others.
A spokesperson with CDI Contractors of Little Rock said that a subcontractor, that is working on the site where the Arkansas Children's Hospital Pine Bluff Clinic is being built, hit the waterline while doing some earthwork. The work site is at 42nd Avenue across the street from Jefferson Regional Medical Center.
The accident happened around 9 a.m., the spokesperson said, causing water to flood the street and areas that had been cleared for the clinic. Liberty Utilities Co., which is the city's water company, was contacted and had the broken line repaired within a couple of hours, said the spokesperson for CDI Contractors, which is the lead contractor for the project.
Residents in the area around Southern Pines Cove and Southern Pines Drive reported that their water was brown well after the repairs had been made. R.L Davis, a public relations manager with Liberty, said Monday afternoon that the off-color water was not unsafe, but he suggested waiting until it was clear again before consuming it.
"It won't kill you," he said with a laugh, "but I don't recommend anyone to drink it."
He said that when a water main is damaged, the water pressure to homes, which is usually 60 psi, drops. Once the line is repaired, there is an incremental surge as the pressure is returned to normal. Those changes in pressure disturb the old water lines and dislodge particles that have collected inside the lines over the years.
Those particles get into hot water tanks and in cold water lines, he said, adding that residents should let their lines run until the color clears up on both the hot and cold taps. The water company is also "bleeding the lines," he said, meaning that fire hydrants had been opened in the area to help clear away the discolored water.
Davis said he was aware of what areas in general that the 6-inch water main served but not the overall number of customers involved. He said Liberty lets the state Health Department know of water line breaks, and that samples of the water before and after the break will be analyzed to make sure the water is safe to drink.
Such breaks, he said, "have not made anyone sick in the past."
At the work site later Monday, water that had mostly covered 42nd Avenue had drained. At the work site, however, crews were idle, and pumps were in place moving water from the work areas to the street. Nearby, a street cleaner moved back and forth along a side street to remove mud that had collected from the rush of water from the broken line.