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H-E-B, school water temporarily shut off after construction breaks line

A water main break on May 19 at the H-E-B construction site resulted in temporary disconnected water service in a section of Marble Falls Middle School and the existing H-E-B as well as lowered water pressure in a portion of the Northwood subdivision. Staff photo by Connie Swinney

A water main break on May 19 at the H-E-B construction site resulted in temporary disconnected water service in a section of Marble Falls Middle School and the existing H-E-B as well as lowered water pressure in a portion of the Northwood subdivision. Staff photo by Connie Swinney

STAFF WRITER CONNIE SWINNEY

MARBLE FALLS — Crews have repaired a broken waterline May 19 that resulted in water disconnection for a section of Marble Falls Middle School and lowered water pressure in the Northwood subdivision for several hours, officials reported.

The incident happened about 10:30 a.m. in a city easement, the 1100 block of Pony Circle, behind the site of the new H-E-B store.

Officials said equipment operated by a subcontractor damaged an 8-foot section of the 6-inch water main, spilling several thousands of gallons of water onto the site, along Pony Circle, and down a portion of Northwood onto RR 1431.

“As it turns out, the line was not indicated where it was supposed to be,” said Joeris marketing spokeswoman Angela Cardwell. “The city came out, were notified immediately.

“They assisted us in making the necessary repairs,” she added. “Water was restored under two hours.”

The adjacent Marble Falls Middle School temporarily suspended water services to the main building, and water pressure remained low in the sixth- and eighth-grade buildings where staff and students utilized water service instead.

“There’s only one area out of water at the middle school. That’s the middle section, the seventh-grade hall,” said Mike Phillips, the Marble Falls Independent School District director of maintenance.

At one point, city crews at the scene capped part of the line on the city right-of-way as repairs got underway.

“The water wasn’t quite shut off,” Phillips said. “It was such a water leak that it reduced the pressure on the whole system in that area.”

Water service at the existing H-E-B store, 1511 RR 1431, was cut off for a couple of hours during repairs.

City officials confirmed “a few thousand gallons (of water were) lost” during the incident.

“They’ll flush the pipes for rocks and dirt, and we should be back in business,” Phillips said of the school during the time of repairs.

The city did not issue a boil-water notice, and pressure appeared to be back to normal by the afternoon.

“Every time we do a construction project, obviously, our main priority is to impact as few people as possible for the duration of the project,” Cardwell said. “Our priority was to work with the city, the school, and businesses in the area to get it fixed as soon as possible.”

connie@thepicayune.com