Water Main Update, Water Quality Assurance, and Upcoming Lane Closures
City crews are working to fix a water main break that happened yesterday morning on West 11th Street, between South Grand Avenue and South Harrison Avenue. Repairs are underway, and some residents may notice temporary water outages or lower water pressure while crews finish the work. A notification was sent out through Textcaster and our crews either walked door-to-door or left door hangers to inform affected residents and businesses.
We also want to address a question that came in through DNR today about whether water in the areas of East 5th Street and East 12th Street was safe to drink. The answer is yes. The water in those areas, and across Sedalia,is safe to consume.
Residents should feel confident in Sedalia’s drinking water. The City’s Water Department test water regularly by collecting 25 samples every month from different parts of town. William Bracken, Public Works Utilities Director, said there has not been a bad water sample during his time with the City, which goes back to 2018. Anytime there is a water leak or main break, crews also take extra water samples. Those samples are tested at the City’s state-certified lab at the water treatment plant. All results are sent to the Missouri State Health Department and DNR, and records are kept.
Sometimes, after a water main break, the City may issue a precautionary boil advisory for 24 hours. This gives time for test results to come back. While these advisories are issued out of caution, there has not been a test result that required extending a boil advisory.
Bracken explains that changing weather plays a big role in water main breaks. As temperatures warm and cool, the ground freezes, thaws, and shifts. This movement can put extra pressure on water pipes and cause breaks. These issues are not always caused by old pipes and infrastructure. In fact, some older pipes are stronger than newer materials. Pipes are replaced based on areas with repeated problems, not just age.
The Utilities Department has 8 employees working in water distribution and 5 in sewer collections. Based on the weather this winter, February has actually had a normal number of water main breaks for this time of year.
In addition, the contractor installing a new water main on South Grand Avenue will have intermittent lane closures at South Grand Avenue and Brentwood Avenue starting Wednesday after 8:00 a.m. and continuing through Friday afternoon. The road will stay open, and only one lane will be closed at a time.
Drivers, please use caution, watch for crews, and expect minor delays while work is happening.