Water leak closes Arlington schools
By John Waller
Bennington Banner
Water leak closes Arlington schools
ARLINGTON, VA - A major leak in Arlington's water system forced high school students to head home on Thursday, canceled all school in the town today and resulted in the loss of more than 100,000 gallons of water, according to Burr Snow of the Arlington Water Company.
Arlington Memorial Middle and High School and Fisher Elementary School are closed to students today, after a leak significantly decreased water pressure at the schools and at residences on East Arlington Road on Thursday.
The leak was isolated at 5:30 p.m. and water pressure returned to normal at schools, according to Snow.
The problems comes in advance of a meeting on Oct. 10 at the middle and high school gymnasium to discuss a 41 percent increase in water rates. The increase is intended to pay for the installation of a 1,550-foot, 8-inch water main from East Arlington Road to Route 7A, the area where the leak was suspected to be, and replacement of up to 3,400 feet of existing water main.
Originally, the water company's rate increase was supposed to commence on Oct. 1, but the Public Service Board suspended the increase to allow for a hearing process.
The PSB previously approved the Arlington Water Company's plan to borrow $680,000 for the project. On Oct. 25, a final hearing is planned to finalize or disallow the rate increase, which has sparked protests some residents and Select Board members.
Snow said leaks usually occur in old pipes when the sides of the pipe are rotted through.
Crews began digging on East Arlington Road, halfway between the Arlington schools and Warm Brook Road, at 3 p.m. on Thursday in an attempt to fix the leak. At 2 p.m., Snow, with assistance from Manchester Water and Sewer Department, was attempting to locate the leak using listening devices.
"We have a major leak somewhere that is reeking havoc on the system," Snow said.
He said he received a few phone calls over the weekend and on Monday from residents in the area notifying him of a small decrease in water pressure. On Wednesday afternoon, Snow began receiving more calls, and by Thursday afternoon, he had talked with 25 residents who had a significant decrease in pressure.
Snow said a few houses, which are higher in elevation, reported having no water, but the vast majority of the houses in the East Arlington Road area had some water flowing from their pipes. It did not appear that the majority of the town was affected by the leak, he said.
After receiving phone calls, Snow said he noticed the town's water pumps, which pump from Round Mountain Spring for the west end of town, and a drilled well in the east end of town, were pumping significantly more water than usual on Thursday, informing him that there was serious leak. In a typical day they pump 180,000 gallons of water, but on Thursday they pumped 330,000 gallons of water a day, an 83.3 percent increase.
Emergency tank low
The town's 500,000-gallon emergency storage tank had also reached "very low" levels, according to Snow, on Thursday. "The pumps can't catch up if they're trying to service the town and fill the tank at the same time," he said.
Snow said the drilled well on the east end of town has already been compensating for the Red Mountain Spring because of a recent drought in the area. The Red Mountain Spring is only running at one-third of its normal capacity because of the drought.
Snow assumed one of the reasons the water from the leak was not surfacing by Thursday afternoon was because the water was getting soaked up by the dry ground. He did not expect any property damage from the excess water in the ground.
At noon on Thursday, students in grades 9-12 were sent home for the day from Arlington Memorial Middle and High School, and students in grades 6-8 were sent to Fisher Elementary School, according to Arlington Superintendent Charles Sweetman.
Snow said that because of the middle and high schools elevated location, water pressure was significantly lower there than at the elementary school.
At 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sweetman informed students that school would be closed to students on Friday, sending notices home with K-8 graders from Fisher. "It is our understanding at this point that there is a significant leak in the Arlington Water Company system," the note reads.
He said he expects that there will be school on Monday.
There were concerns that if a fire occurred at Fisher, there would not be enough water pressure to extinguish the blaze, but Sweetman said there was enough water pressure to safely keep the school open. He said in a fire drill last week all students were out of the building in 57 seconds.
He said safety was the school's number one concern. "If you send kids home early, you run the risk of having young children go home to empty houses," Sweetman said. "I am happy to report that everyone got home safe and sound today, and I appreciate what our staff did to help out."
Fisher Principal Deanne Lacoste said students in grades 6-8 were set up in designated areas of the school, and the operation went smoothly.
With school closed on Friday, the day will count like a snow day, meaning Arlington students will be in school until at least June 16.
Snow said that as of Thursday he did not think the town would need to bring in outside water on trucks. Once a leak is found, he said it takes three to four hours to fix with repair clamps.
This leak is the largest, based on the number of gallons of water lost, in Snow's memory. He said several years ago the town lost 100,000 gallons of water in a day because of a leak, but it did not deplete the system like this leak did.
A water conservation advisory is posted for the town of Arlington until the leak is fixed. Snow urged people to use water wisely during this time, and not to wash their cars and water their lawns.
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