The South Jacksonville Public Works Superintendent wanted to clear the air about some confusion surrounding a water main break in the village and a subsequent boil order at the same time over the past week.
Superintendent Brian English says this past week’s freeze and then bout of warm weather brought a perfect storm of problems for the village’s water system in town and out on their rural transmission line: “The water department had 13 water main breaks last month. [On January 31st], we had one on the transmission line that kind of stirred up a lot. With the boil order and everything, a lot of people got confused about what happened. The boil order was on the [rural] transmission line. With what was going on out here [on Dewey Drive], a lot of people were talking back and forth. Actually, the line stop out here [on Dewey Drive] went really well. It was more [of a problem] with the State of Illinois and getting a road closed down like we did. Other than, it went well.”
English says that with all of the projected work due to start in the Spring, he is bringing on another worker in the Public Works Department very soon. English says having a fourth crew member is something that the village had gotten away from to save money in the recent past: “We do have it in the budget for 4 guys. I got away from it when we didn’t have the water plant running. We were trying to save a little bit of money. With what happened last month and everything, we kind of need a fourth guy now with what’s going on with this summer with the hydrants, the lead lines, and everything. It would be nice to have a fourth guy there.”
English is hoping to hire Stone Lambie officially by the next village board meeting. Since it was not a listed action item Thursday night, the board just gave a straw vote consensus that it would be an approved action item at their next meeting on February 20th.
English says the number of water main breaks was unusually high, but not uncommon due to the freezing temperatures and the quick thaw that occurred. He says it caused the ground to shift, especially on frequently used roadways, and that put pressure on the pipes. English says he expects more problems with the upcoming weather pattern in the region this week.