Broken water main causes headaches in Malta

A crack in a cast iron main near the intersection of South 1st Ave East and South 7th Street East last Thursday evening caused a small river to flow down several blocks of 7th Street East and left some Malta City Residents to be without running water for much of Friday.

The break in the main also left the Malta City Works team with a 13-hour workday on Friday as they had to rip up pavement, figure out where 70-plus year-old water shutoffs were and to dig an eight-foot trench to find the broken pipe.

"It was a hole about as big as my fist and then it cracked-out from there and deteriorated," Public Works Director James Brown said late Friday night. "It's a really old line and we had to cut a piece out of it and replace it."

Brown said that the Public Works Department did a wonderful job fixing the problem and each and everyone of them was determined to get the pipe fixed, regardless of how long it was going to take and Phillip Henderson assisted the crew with the project.

"I would back these guys any day," Brown added. "These guys are the best. You just have to have faith in them and let them do their jobs."

Brown said in his 20-years working with Malta Public Works that he has seen this type of break about a dozen times. He said the main replaced on Friday was most likely installed in the 1920's or 30's.