Water main breaks cause boil advisory in Hartley

A scourge of water main breaks in Hartley last week caused headaches for both residents and city workers alike.

According to Superintendent of Public Works Curtis Conaway, the first burst main occurred on First Street Southeast on Aug. 8. Four others were discovered on Aug. 10, the first of which happened in front of United Community Bank. Later that same morning, another was discovered by the Post Office and City Hall.

Conaway on Monday said he was unable to comment on the suspected cause of the breaks. At its meeting later that night, the city council agreed to start advertising for a new water superintendent.

"After we discovered the second one, we had one of the girls in the office and Lindsay Kracht drive every road in town, and they found the other two," Conaway said. "The guys were up at around 2-3 a.m. [Thursday], and were done working around 6:30 p.m."

The city issued a boil advisory as a precaution due to the main breaks. It lasted from Thursday morning, Aug. 10, through Saturday morning, Aug. 12. Portions of Hartley were left without water service during the initial repair process.

Conaway last Thursday called in former superintendent of public works Jaron Benz, who now operates his family's excavating business, to dig out one of the main breaks. Also called in to dig out another was Hartley Backhoe & Construction. The city crew needed to dig a grave at the cemetery that day, which left its equipment somewhat strained in lieu of the other issues occurring.

"I was unsure of how many more we were going to have that day and night, so I wanted to get ahead of them in case we had a few more to do," Conaway said.

Conaway said equipment at the water plant sends an alert when a leak is suspected. It's up to staff members to pinpoint the leak and repair it.

"There are many steps to it, but essentially you dig down to it, and decide how to fix it – whether that be with a repair band, or if we have to replace a section of pipe," he explained.

During Monday's council meeting, Mayor Rodney Ahrenstorff thanked Conaway and his staff for their work. He said the city will continue monitoring the situation and is hoping the issue is resolved.