The morning of Sunday, January 26, Silver Bay was interrupted by two water main breaks: one by the bus garage on Edison Boulevard, and the other by William Kelley School on Banks Boulevard. City staff began working to repair the Edison Blvd break first, citing impacts from that break on other parts of the city water system. The water tower was approximately 50% full, and school was canceled at William Kelley for Monday the 27th. Silver Bay Mayor Wade LeBlanc said that the cause of the break is unknown in an interview with WDIO, but he guessed it was a combination of the weather and old bolts and pipes. A broken fire hydrant Saturday night contributed to the issue, as its malfunctioning increased the water pressure in the city’s pipes.
Challenges were immediately faced by city staff, who had to dig through layers of frost to reach the main and the break, and Silver Bay residents were requested to conserve water. However, as crews worked on the Edison and Banks breaks, two more breaks occurred Sunday evening on Quincy Drive and Law Drive, lowering the city’s water level. Lake County announced that while the water was safe to drink, cook, and flush toilets with, residents were encouraged to limit use of washing machines, dishwashers, and showers. At 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, the water level had been increased to 70%, and crews left the site just after 10:00 p.m., with the water tower 65% full.
By Monday afternoon, repairs on Banks were completed, but another break had occurred, a result of the high pressures in the water system. Residents who had been without water on Banks, between Horn and Edison, received access to water again, but were told to boil water before drinking. Water testing had been done and residents waited to receive a notification of the results. MN Rural Water arrived on site and local contractors were expected to arrive at the break sites throughout the day. The Quincy/Reed break was first on Monday afternoon’s schedule, with the other breaks to be addressed in order of priority.
Thank you to the community of Silver Bay for your patience at this time, and thanks to the workers who have put in long hours to fix the water main breaks.
