The water repair site in Chester. Photo provided by Tom Becker
A break in a water pipe left people living and working in the vicinity of the 2100 block of Whispering Hills without water for much of the day Monday.
Village Clerk Rebecca Rivera said the leak was in the 2100 block of Whispering Hills.
Whispering Hills, Straus News, Knoll Crest Apartments and Pine Hollows Apartments had their water shut off since early morning on Monday when the village’s water crew began to work to fix the leak. Those affected were notified around 10 or 11 am Rivera said.
“It proved to be more difficult than expected,” Rivera said.
Recently retired village water commissioner and current town board member Tom Becker said a ductile iron saddle rotted off on a two-inch line. The saddle was being replaced and the two-inch line was hard to work with.
He said water, electric and gas lines are under sewer and water lines, although the drainage line can be over the top or under the water or sewer lines.
He said the village is required to have four to four and one-half feet of insulation over the water piping so the water doesn’t freeze.
Becker said the crew was working around a lot of dangerous things, like electric lines and gas lines.
“That stuff can kill you,” he said.
Repairs were completed by early evening and water was flowing through the pipes by late evening. Some had water earlier.
Gray A. Green Jr. is the water commissioner and was appointed when Tom Becker retired.
“The village gets its water from a well source on Black Meadow Road and from Walton Lake in Monroe,” Becker said.
Added Sue Bahren: “The village created a water district when the village bought the top 18 inches of Walton Lake in Monroe in the 1800s.”
- Frances Ruth Harris