Water line work

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Nate Young of Municipal Pipe Services of Hastings, right, and Pat Fawver, top left, and Seth Province of McCook's water department install a "line stop" on the 16-inch water pipeline in the 300 block of West Fifth late Tuesday afternoon. Fawver said the line stop has a big rubber plunger that will be inserted into the water line to temporarily shut off water in the pipe so that they can then replace a leaking water valve that serves the city's Memorial Auditorium half-a-block south. Work will continue over the next couple days as the crew installs a tall ram coming out of the top of the line stop to cut a piece out of the 16-inch pipe, insert the plunger and shut off the water flow. Jesse Dutcher, utilities director, said the repair of the leaking valve needs to be handled this way to avoid major interruption of the water supply to the west water tower and the west half of town. Dutcher said that he and his water crew have been impressed with the condition of the pipeline that could date back to the 1940s or 1950s. Most water lines in McCook are four to five feet deep, he said, although this one is just three feet deep. "It won't ever freeze because it moves so much water," Dutcher said.

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