Water system back on line in Seward; water still not fit for consumption

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The City of Seward water cannot be consumed after a water main break happened Sunday and water pressure failed in the system.

The water main break near Highway 15 and Izaak Walton Road was discovered under floodwater from the Big Blue River around 6 p.m. last night.

The city will have water tested in 40 locations today and Tuesday.

If clean water tests come back Wednesday, the system will receive clearance from the state to be used again for consumption.

City of Seward Mayor Josh Eickmeier credited the city employees who worked hard to find the problem and prevent further problems.

“Our employees have done a phenomenal job of going above and beyond to isolate the problem and then to begin to restoring water in the community. I just want to say a special thanks to the city employees and all the other emergency response that we have received from throughout the area,” Eickmeier said.

State Sen. Mark Kolterman of Seward helped get the Nebraska National Guard to deliver potable water to Seward. The Buffalo Tanker is currently located at the Nebraska National Guard Museum at 201 N. 8th Street.

“I also want to echo what the mayor said. I want to thank our city crews for all the work that they did. They have worked tirelessly for a number of hours throughout the night trying to address this issue,” City Administrator Greg Butcher said.

Timeline

1:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20 – The city received notification through emergency alerts on its water system that the water levels in both water towers were starting to decrease rapidly. City employees responded to the alerts and started the process of trying to find the problem.

3 p.m. – City crews updated the city administrator that they were looking for a water main break. No breaks were found.

4 p.m. – The city was starting to get calls about low water pressure throughout the city. Crews began to close values underneath the Big Blue River and Plum Creek as they figured the main break was under the floodwaters.

6 p.m. – Tim Richtig, water/waste water director, reported they had found an issue near Tenneco at Highway 15 and Izaak Walton Road. The water main was located under heavy brush cover and under floodwater. Crews monitored the area and determined there was a big hole with cleaner water coming out. Water valves were closed to the main break. However, some valves could not be closed because of the high floodwater.

Emergency management organizations were contacted to be included and updated.

“We have a two-fold issue, Butcher said. “We had too much water and not enough water going on at the exact same time. We had a lot of organized pieces moving around.”

6:30 p.m. – Mayor Eickmeier signed a Declaration of Emergency, and the county signed an emergency declaration which allowed the city to work with the State of Nebraska, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency and the National Guard.

6:30-7 p.m. – The city issued an alert that city water should not be consumed.

9:30 p.m. – After numerous valves were shut off, the city started to refill its towers, which began to restore water pressure.

Butcher said residents should now be able to use the water for bathing, laundry and other household needs, but the water should not be consumed until further notice because of unknown contaminants.

The water must test clean for two consecutive days before it will be OK to drink or cook with.

The Nebraska National Guard is offering drinkable water from a tanker truck west of the museum. Pac ‘N’ Save Grocery and Wal-Mart have scheduled extra shipments of bottled water, and Culligan of Crete will have water for sale in the former Mike’s Fresh Market parking lot.