University repairs water main without disruption to service

A leak in a University water main near Patton Hall was repaired yesterday without disruption to University water service or threat to water quality, according to campus officials.

The leak occurred in a 10-inch, cast iron water main that runs perpendicular to Elm Drive, according Michael Kaas, technical trades manager of the University Department of Grounds and Building Maintenance.

University personnel first became aware of the leak when water seeped into the basement of Patton earlier this week, Kaas said. However, maintenance personnel were at first unable to locate the damaged pipe.

The leaking water main eventually was located and unearthed. Personnel from the facilities department then applied a patch.

Repairs were completed by 1:30 p.m. yesterday, according to Thomas Nyquist, director of engineering and construction.

"They fixed it on the fly," said Nyquist, "but we've got some awfully wet men down there."

No one on campus was without water, and no services were shut off because of the leak, said Erin Reilly, spokeswoman for the Elizabethtown Water Company.

The leak was most likely the result of the recent cold weather, Nyquist said.

Elizabethtown draws its water from the Raritan and Delaware rivers, Reilly said.

Even after being treated, the water that is piped into the main is relatively cold, compared to a pipe that is buried in relatively warm earth, said Nyquist.

This can lead to cracks in the pipe. In addition, land tends to move around more during cold spells, said Reilly, which can also contribute to pipe cracks.

Pipe breaks in cold weather are a common occurrence, according to Nyquist. "Elizabethtown is a very big system, and they've been coping with the problem," he said.

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It is unlikely that last year's construction around Patton contributed to the break, Nyquist said, because the break occurred between three and four feet away from the nearest newly constructed wall. Rather, the pipe was "reasonably old," which could have made it more susceptible to cracking.