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Purcell water tanks replenished

Service is back to normal after two huge main breaks

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Water service is back to normal.

Purcell City Manager Dale Bunn has announced Purcell Public Works Customers can resume normal water use thanks to their cooperation last week in cutting back water use during the refilling of tanks after a pair of major water main breaks.

“Following two consecutive water main breaks a week ago, one of which was prolonged because it was in a naturally wet area of Walnut Creek, the considerate customers who understood a short-term deprivation would probably avoid mandatory restrictions from being applied, we are grateful to them,” Bunn said.

Purcell’s Splash Pad reopened Monday after storage tanks were returned to normal levels.

Bunn estimated the city lost a million gallons of water with the two breaks.

Bunn said the ground shifts when it gets dry and that coupled with cooling water lines causes the breaks.

“The lines are not exceptionally old,” the city manager said.

“We will be shifting home service lines over to newer mains and will be retiring the line under Washington,” he said.

All 15 of the city’s wells are running full time.

“We need to drill more wells,” he confirmed, “but it costs between $500,000 and $750,000 to drill a well,” Bunn said.

He said residents in Purcell consume right at a million gallons of water a day.

“We consume anywhere from 350,000 to 380,000 millions gallons a year,” he confirmed. “I don’t know if you can mitigate the water line issues but you can minimize them.

“Water Superintendent Michael Minor is the sharpest guy the city has ever had and he works hard. He looks at ways to route the water and bring up the pressure slowly so the system does not cause a hammer affect,” Bunn said.

“He knows how to move the water around and with the development of 450 homes in Southbrook coming on line we need to be prepared,” Bunn said.

The line breaks last week caused customers in the south part of town and points further south to be without water from 6 a.m. Saturday until around 10:30 p.m. Sunday and then it was just a trickle.

Once the tanks were filled then full pressure was restored.

City officials are requesting customers to program automated lawn and bed irrigation to be from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.

“That’s when the system has its highest pressure and lowest demand,” Bunn said.

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