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Ashland utilities crews isolate 12-inch main leak affecting neighborhoods; repairs pending
Summary
Public-works staff reported a major water main failure behind Fuji on 13th Street, temporarily interrupting service in parts of the city. The leak was isolated during the meeting and crews will assess repairs; no repair timeline was provided.
City staff told the Board of Commissioners on Jan. 23 that a 12-inch water main failed behind Fuji on 13th Street, temporarily interrupting water service to portions of Oakview Road, Woodland Avenue, Pollard Road and Dixon Street.
Mark Hall, who briefed the board on the utility response, said crews worked to isolate the leak by manipulating multiple valves because the system is a ‘‘spider web’’ and cannot be shut off at a single valve. During the meeting Hall reported that the leak had been shut off and that the Board Hill tank — which supplies head pressure across the system — was expected to refill as the plant produced replacement water.
Hall said the failure reduced suction pressure at the Floyd Street pump station and could cause outages in higher-elevation areas while the tank level recovers. He emphasized that once the leak was isolated, the water plant could make up much of the lost volume and the tank-level recovery should restore service to affected areas. Hall said city crews would enter the site to determine repair needs but did not provide a timeline for completing permanent repairs.
Why it matters: Interruptions to a major distribution main can affect customers at multiple elevations and require coordinated valve operations and pump management to prevent wider system pressure loss.
Quotations: "It's a spider web of a system, so we have to go hit various valves to be able to isolate the water," Mark Hall said, describing the response.
"We got it to shut off enough now where the DeBorde Hill and now we're okay on — we should — I don't know what the level of DeBorde is because when I left my office it was still 4 foot above kind of the danger level," Hall said, noting the tank level situation and that he would keep the board briefed through the city manager.
Discussion vs. decision: The briefing was informational. The board did not take formal action on the repair during the meeting; Hall said crews would assess and repair the broken main and that he would provide updates through the city manager.
Ending: City staff indicated the immediate emergency was contained and promised follow-up updates; a repair timeline was not specified in the meeting transcript.
