PORT ANGELES — Some residents on the east side of Port Angeles have been cautioned to boil drinking water while city crews work to repair a 20-inch water main.
The precautionary boil water notice, which was posted late Thursday, is for the areas of Melody Lane, Melody Circle and Village Circle as well as some residences on Brown Road, Round Tree Road, Golf Course Road, Fernwood Lane, Woodhaven Lane, Mount Pleasant Road, Maddock Road, Pearce Road, Monroe Road and above Lindberg Road off Golf Course Road.
Blue door hangers have been placed at the residences affected (on doors or in mailboxes when the doors were not reachable), the city said.
The transmission main runs underneath Golf Course Road, said Public Works Director Thomas Hunter. The break was near the road’s intersection with Melody Lane.
When the leak in the pipe was reported to the city on Wednesday, “it was pretty isolated and it wasn’t that bad,” Hunter said, “but through the evening it started to progress and get worse.”
Leaks can start out small but if the pipe has other weaknesses, the leak can widen. That results in water pooling under the pipe, allowing it to shift as it settles.
Hunter did not know today what caused the break.
He said the water main “is an older pipe.”
City crews have been working on repairs throughout the day and Hunter is hopeful it will be repaired soon.
Once it has been repaired, it will be disinfected and flushed and city crews will take water samples to test its safety.
Once satisfactory results are received, the city will contact homes affected via door hangers, the release said.
Updates will be provided through the city’s website and Public Works Facebook page.
