Chatham waterline still needs repairs

CHATHAM — A main waterline that ruptured Wednesday, forcing Chatham officials to shut down the town’s water supply, has still not been completely repaired but it has been isolated and shut off from the water system, according to the town’s public works director.

The ruptured six-inch main line off Moses Mill Road and a crack in another line off Lynn Street forced officials to shut down the water supply and declare a state of emergency that lasted three days.

About 300 feet of the main line coming out of Chatham’s water purification plant is not repaired and is not a necessary part of the system, Public Works Director Bob Hanson said Monday night at a Chatham Town Council meeting.

He told council members he had fixed the line but the patch wouldn’t hold. Hanson said he would rather repair the line in a controlled situation.

The line ran alongside another, 10-inch line from the plant and was a design mistake, Hanson said. Its shutdown is not affecting the town’s water customers, he said.

Town Manager Mike Jones attributed the cracks to aging infrastructure and freezing temperatures. Hanson said line pressure caused the rupture at Lynn Street after the line was re-energized.Ruptures occurred at other locations in individual customer lines, he said.

Hanson said he did not know how much repairs to the cracks cost the town.The problems ended Saturday when the Virginia Department of Public Health and Environment declared the water safe to drink.

Hanson and Chatham council members thanked town employees, area organizations, agencies and other towns for their help in last week’s incident.

Contact John R. Crane at or (434) 791-7987.