Anson County ratifies emergency repairs after 24-inch main rupture; commissioners pledge review and upgrades

Anson County commissioners approved a resolution ratifying emergency repairs to a ruptured 24-inch water main and pressed officials to pursue system upgrades and better monitoring after a multi-day outage.

County Manager Sossman briefed the board on the July 7 failure on Highway 74 near Morven Freight Line Road, saying Columbus Utilities was contracted for the repair and an attempted bypass ultimately failed, leaving the system without service until crews could restore and re-pressurize lines and conduct bacteriological tests. "We thought that would let us get it done within about 12 hours," Sossman said, describing how the bypass failed and the restoration process stretched into days as crews flushed lines and waited for negative BAC T results.

Assistant County Manager Addison thanked utility crews and a long list of partner agencies and municipalities that provided personnel, equipment or lab support, including Charlotte Water, Union County and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. "County staff, especially the utilities crews, worked around the clock," Addison said.

Chairman McCall displayed a removed 8-inch valve that engineers identified as a source of persistent loss; he told the board engineers estimated the vault leak was discharging large quantities of water before the valve was repaired. McCall argued that finding and fixing small, local leaks is cost-effective: "We were losing 1,500,000 gallons of water every day at that valve," he said, using the example to press for tighter operations oversight and faster detection.

The board voted to approve a resolution declaring a water emergency to ratify emergency contracting and allow payment of the contractor bills incurred while the repair was underway. Sossman told the board that the original emergency contracting for on-site repairs exceeded his procurement authority (he cited an original figure in the mid-five-hundred-thousand-dollar range) and that ratification was necessary to complete the administrative record.

Officials also reported a certified letter from a state public water supply engineer requiring a plan and timeline to add a backup generator at the raw-water intake. The General Assembly has appropriated $400,000 toward that generator, Sossman said, and the county estimate indicates additional local funding will be required to complete design and procurement.

Commissioners debated near-term steps — including whether to create an advisory water-and-sewer planning board to guide capital priorities and grant strategy — and to hire or contract with experienced water operations engineers. Sossman said he has asked for a contract operator/engineer proposal and expects to bring options to the board at the next meeting.

Board members emphasized the need for a systemwide review and updated capital-improvement priorities so the county can identify hidden losses and prioritize fixes. The county also said it will pursue state and federal funding sources but that most available relief may be loan‑based (State Revolving Fund) rather than grants.

The resolution declaring the emergency passed by voice vote. The board directed staff to pursue after‑action reviews, pursue telemetry and SCADA improvements for better tank and pressure monitoring, and bring a proposal for engineering support to the August meeting.