Medford, Ore. — A follow up to a story NBC5 first brought you Monday.
Medford crews are continuing to clean up after a water main break in west Medford.
The break shot gallons of water several feet into the air.
With 8 to 12 water main breaks each year, the Medford Water Commission says another break is likely, but it usually goes unnoticed.
“There she is. That’s when she turns around and looks and sees the water… that’s where she screams,” Medford resident Ed Jones said.
Ed Jones and his wife Paula were quite surprised Monday morning after Paula saw water pouring into their driveway through their security cameras.
“Here goes the UPS truck. Splash… and then here comes the big pour,” Jones said.
A main line broke in west Medford on Jeanette Avenue causing water to flood nearby streets and properties.
Ever since, crews have been working to repair the main break, restore water service and clean the area.
“I’m just really amazed that got out here as fast as they did and got our water back on as fast as they did,” Jones said.
Operations Superintendent Ken Johnson with the Medford Water Commission says it’s hard to determine why the main broke.
He says a possibility is there could have been a slight manufacturing flaw when it was first built back in 1952, or even the simple change in seasons could be to blame.
“When the soils change and temperatures change, we think that can create some tension on the pipe and cause it to break if the conditions are perfect,” Johnson said.
Johnson says water main breaks aren’t uncommon and could happen somewhere else, but they don’t normally have as big of an impact.
“They do happen and we’re prepared to do what we did on Jeanette to quickly as possible solve the problem, get the pipe fixed and get our customers back in water,” Johnson said.
As for Jones, he says the break was simply a minor inconvenience and he’ll be checking on the crews until the project is finished.
“I come out here once in a while and watch them. Ya know, see what there progress is and give them some pointers,” Jones said laughing.
Johnson says crews will be paving the area in the coming weeks.
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