67-year-old Mill Park water main ruptures, floods street

It’s amazing how quickly Portland Water Bureau crews managed to fix the broken pipe in outer East Portland, and then fix the street …

Residents of the Mill Park neighborhood suspect something is amiss, when they see water bubbling up through SE Main Street, east of 122nd Avenue. PWB image

By David F. Ashton

Reports of water gurgling up from SE Main Street, between 122nd and 127th Avenues, brought the Portland Water Bureau (PWB) in to investigate on Thursday morning, December 17.

PWB workers knew immediately that what they saw wasn’t a puddle left behind by recent rains.

Digging through the buckled pavement, crew members uncovered a broken water main.

After the water is shut off to the immediate area, workers begin digging into the street to find the cracked water main. PWB image

“The pipe is was a cast iron four-inch water main from 1953,” reported PWB Public Information Officer Jaymee Cuti. “Twenty-four residential water services may be affected.”

By late afternoon, the pipe had been patched, the hole filled, and the surface repaved.
“We encouraged those who see discolored water to let it run for two to three minutes; if it does not clear, turn the water off and wait 30 minutes, and try it again,” Cuti advised East Portland News readers.

Workers put a sturdy metal “patch” on this pipe to get water flowing again to area customers. PWB image

“The PWB’s Maintenance & Construction crews are called out to repair water main breaks in our 2,200 miles of pipes, at all hours of the day and night, an average of 200 times a year,” remarked Cuti. “So be our eyes and ears; if you think you’ve spotted a broken main, call our emergency line 24-hrs. a day at 503-823-4874!”

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