Medina County Sanitary Engineers address "unprecedented" amount of leaks around Chippewa Lake

CHIPPEWA LAKE — There were 22 water main leaks around the Chippewa Lake region this weekend, which have since been addressed by the Medina County Sanitary Engineers. Sanitary Engineer Jeremy Sinko gave an update on the situation during the commissioners' meeting Tuesday. He said it started with a large leak around the "S-curve" area of Lake Road on Friday, and pressurization in the southern half of the water district was lost due to the leak's size. "Eastlake (Road) and Lake Road was pretty much that dividing point, so anything south of Eastlake (Road), excluding the Westfield Lakes subdivision, was on a boil alert," he said. "We hand-delivered over 300 notices to all the affected properties to ensure they received those notices. Anyone north of Eastlake (Road) and in the Westfield Lakes subdivision were not on a boil alert, so they did not receive any notifications." The sanitary engineers began filling up the system. Sinko said the high velocity of the water going through the system targeted weak spots in the cast iron pipes in the area, which caused leaks. "The pipe would leak. All the water would evacuate the pipe, and then that would leave a void there," he said. "Then, the interconnect would quickly fill that, and as it did, it created a surge in pressure." A pressure regulating apparatus was put on a hydrant, Sinko said. As the pressure increased, the valve would open on the hydrant and release water to help subdue the pressure. "In doing so, we actually were able to start catching up on these leaks," he said. "All these leaks were done using triple clamps, essentially, clamps that go over the pipe where it's leaking. You bolt it down, and it's good to go." By Saturday night, 19 out of the 22 leaks were fixed, and the remaining three were complete on Sunday morning. Sinko said he cannot pinpoint one cause of the leak and believes there were multiple causes. "One was the velocity of the water. Isolating these valves probably created some water hammer, and we probably caused a couple of leaks ourselves, which does happen," he said. "The third is that there was air that got in the line, so that air dissipating during these leaks caused shock waves or pulses of pressure that also targeted the weak points of the pipe and caused the leak." On Monday morning, the office began getting calls that residents in the area had no water, Sinko said. A valve that was installed on July 29 was mostly closed and was overlooked when it was installed. "The flow rate coming back through it from Ryan tower back into the system was not as great, so it was just trickling water into the system, so essentially we ran out of water," he said. "Once we opened up that valve, the system pressurized, and we haven't had any issues since." Sinko said the department does not have solid billing data to do a reverse 911 for affected customers, and not everyone uses social media to be informed of a boil advisory. "I know absolutely we need to do a better job communicating," Commissioner Steve Hambley said. "We absolutely need to come up with a better plan and find a way to also integrate with the (Emergency Management Agency) and our emergency response plan." Having discolored water does not automatically trigger a boil alert, Sinko said. If there are questions or problems regarding water, contact the sanitary engineers' office at (330) 723-9585. "When we're rushing new water through, it's cleaning out the line a little bit, flushing it out, and there may be sediment," he said. "There could be discoloration. We advise people to run it until it's clean, but you're OK. We take public safety very seriously and wouldn't do anything to endanger our customers." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.