Rison Sees 6-Inch Water Main Break

RISON - Rison Mayor Charles Roberts said he is attributing the rupture of a six-inch water main in a wooded area along Harrison Creek early Saturday as a residual effect from the early February ice storm. Roberts said the city was notified by the Cleveland County Sheriff's Department at about 5 a.m. Saturday, March 25, that it was experiencing low water pressure at the sheriff's office located in the county courthouse complex. The mayor said he and Rison Utilities Manager Joe Freyer began looking for the problem, and Freyer discovered the leaking main in a wooded area along Harrison Creek behind the Hixson Mill on Niven Road. Roberts said the same water main broke last year on the other side of the creek. Getting to the leak presented the city with some problems. Roberts said the city water department had to cut their way through trees that had fallen during the ice storm in order to get to the leak. Once they got there, he said they learned the leak was at the bottom of about a 10-foot drop off, so they had to bring in a bigger excavator to make the repair. The leak was discovered about 30 minutes after getting the call for sheriff's department, Roberts said. He said residents probably noticed little to no impact on their water pressure during the ordeal because they were able to isolate the damaged area by turning off the valves around the leak. Roberts said Freyer and the water department crew have been locating as many valves within the city water system as possible the past few months. He said the discovery of some valves they did not have records of allowed them to shut off the area impacted by a leak while allowing the rest of the system to remain functional. He said the city's water tanks were refilled and the system was at regular operations by about 10:30 a.m. Roberts attributed the busted main to a tree that had fallen over the top of it during the Feb. 1-2 ice storm. He said the impact of the...