OCWA repairs of ruptured water line enters next phase as water supply holds steady

Syracuse, N.Y. — The replacement of a section of water main in Cicero that ruptured last month has entered the third phase, officials said today.

After sealing off a 150-foot-long section around the pipe and pumping out groundwater, crews for the Onondaga County Water Authority have now started digging up the pipe itself.

Crews will dig up the 42-inch-diameter pipe, which rests about 10 feet beneath the ground, and remove it over the next week. Then, they’ll support the new 134-foot section of pipe with gravel and steel girders, both of which are on site.

The work is still expected to be completed by the end of next week, said Jeff Brown, OCWA’s executive director.

“January 16 is still the estimated date for completion,” he said. “We are working with the Department of Health on the process for disinfecting the water and making sure it’s safe.”

That could take a day or two, Brown said, and then the water will start flowing again.

The line was shut down on Dec. 20 after repairs failed. Since then, residents and businesses of six towns have been served by an OCWA reservoir in Manlius and by a patched-together network of water supplies from other water agencies in Onondaga and Madison counties.

The 50-million-gallon reservoir in Manlius now has about 15 million gallons as more water is being pumped in than is being used, Brown said. That’s up from about 9 million gallons in late December.

“We’re putting back a little bit more water into the reserves each day than what the community is using,” said Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon.

The water break affected 27,000 users in the towns of Manlius, DeWitt, Pompey, Sullivan, Lenox and Lincoln.

OCWA has been battling water leaks in the same area since at least summer, when a valve off the main transmission line leaked. That was repaired in August; in November, the first leak in the main line was found 30 feet away from the valve repair. Brown said the two were unrelated.

The agency fixed that November leak, but the main pipe sprung two more leaks nearby in December. Temporary fixes failed, and on Dec. 20, OCWA shut off the pipe.

The cities of Syracuse and Oneida are each providing 800,000 gallons. OCWA has also rerouted supplies from around the north side of Oneida Lake and set up temporary pumps in Otisco Lake.