Water line break and can't find a shutoff

This is what happened.

A six-inch water main breaks on the corner across from the high school.

A small river of water flows north on Line Street from the underground break.

A maze of water lines criss-crosses the area.

There are a total of 13 shutoff valves along the intersecting streets.

But, NONE that would shut down the water line so that water department personnel could easily identify where the break was and make the repair.

They could have gone farther out and shut down whole neighborhoods, but they didn't want people without service.

So they repaired the line under pressure. It took three pumps to keep up. As they always do, they fixed it.

But, here's the problem.

Over the years a number of shutoffs and manhole covers have been paved over with asphalt and oil and chipping. Many have been found and dug out again. Others may be lost forever. Street and water personnel try to work ahead of the oil and chipping operation and shovel sand onto the covers so they can be uncovered later. Finding a shutoff quickly can save an hour. One good thing from the water break. The city will try and have a dedicated response trailer where all pumps and equipment are in one place.