LUMBERTON, Miss. (WDAM) – Lumberton was without water for about three hours on Tuesday, causing schools and local businesses to close.
Lumberton Mayor James Sandifer, Jr. says a main water line to the city was hit during efforts to install fiber optic lines.
“Unfortunately, sometimes when you’re trying to get better as a city – which fiber will help the city with communication, faster internet service – we actually go through certain things like that,” Sandifer said.
As the process continues, the city is working closely with C-Spire to minimize the impacts on day-to-day life.
Sandifer says C-Spire has brought in another crew to use a ground-penetrating radar to help mark water lines that are harder to identify.
“With transite piping, it’s very hard, and sometimes impossible, to actually know where the actual sewer lines are at. So, we’re doing what we can as a city to provide that service,” Sandifer said.
In many instances, the entire city does not have to lose water, but in this case, the fastest solution was to stop the flow.
“If the water’s not shut off, it’s started going out, so unfortunately, this is a main line, so we had to shut all the water off to actually stop the leak,” Sandifer said.
In just three hours, Mayor Sandifer and the public works department were able to fill this once overflowing hole with fresh dirt.
“I got in a hole with them to try to find out and to understand how the process works and what they’re actually dealing with. It’s easy to observe on the bank, but when you get in there with them, you actually understand the different things they’re going through,” Sandifer said. “I just ask the patience of the city, to work with us and understand everything we are doing, and everybody within the public works department is trying their best.”
The public works department also opened five water plugs across the city this afternoon to get all of the air out of the water lines.
A water sample will be collected on Wednesday for testing.
Until those results are finalized, a boil water notice is in effect.
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