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Craig water mains bursting across city

Patrick Kelly
Craig Water Department employees Dustin Willey and Adam Cook look for a leak on a water main while their coworker Tim Kulp operates tries to uncover it with an excavator.
Patrick Kelly

Water mains around the city have been breaking at a rate of around three to four a month since the end of November, according to Craig Water Department officials.

“We’ve been seeing a lot of breaks this season,” Craig Water and Wastewater Director Mark Sollenberger said.

Last Wednesday, three of Sollenberger’s employees who were out patching a burst just west of Yampa Avenue on 13th Street, confirmed the that they had been busier with repairs this winter.



“It’s every doggone where,” said Adam Cook, who works the city water department.

Cook said since the last week of November, he and his coworkers Dustin Willey and Tim Kulp have worked all over town fixing almost one busted pipe per week.



The job on Wednesday was an easier one, they said, because the main was under dirt rather than asphalt.

Craig has 80 miles of water mains, the majority of which are under asphalt, City Manager Jim Ferree said.

Most of the times a pipe breaks, water department workers are forced bust up layers of ice, asphalt and frozen ground just to access the leak. Once the pipe is excavated, workers drain the hole, apply a patch and fill the hole back in.

Sollenberger said it usually takes three to four guys an entire day, if not more to complete a patch.

“A lot of time and man power goes into patching,” he said.

Ferree said the city used to spend $300,000 to $400,000 a year on maintaining the water distribution system but those funds have been unavailable for several years.

To remedy the problem, Ferree and Sollenberger agreed that some of the mains need to be taken out and replaced.

“I would say about several miles needs to be replaced,” Ferree said.


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