Yesterday afternoon in the Mill City, a contractor working on a building project hit and ruptured a 36" diameter water main (which is very large main feeder line, most mains are generally 8" to 12" in diameter) that flooded 8+ city blocks of the city. Shut down of the main took several hours due to the circumstances and discolored water was found in the far end of their systems due to a number of factors.
Now. Number of questions come to mind:
1. Was the main correctly located?
2. Was the contractor aware of such a high profile water line at the site?
3. Was the discoloration just from sediment, or did the size of the break cause contamination throughout the system?
Other thoughts came to mind, but most importantly the on e thing that kept popping into my head all day was; "Thank God that didn't happen in my city. I do not want to deal with that mess!"
http://m.startribune.com/?id=185637622
Would a similar main break in the Saintly City be as difficult to shut down? I'm thinking the Minneapolitans had so much trouble due to the design of their system with its circular feeder mains.
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