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Colonial Parkway Water Main Break
Newport News Waterworks is investigating an apparent leak in a 42-inch raw water main where it crosses the Colonial Parkway in York County.
2011 Jan 05Newport News Waterworks is investigating an apparent leak in a 42-inch raw water main where it crosses the Colonial Parkway in York County.
The leak is located between the Parkway Drive overpass and Hubbard Lane. It was discovered earlier this week when standing water was observed on and alongside the road. The roadway itself has sustained no visible damage, but officials with the National Park Service closed the Colonial Parkway from Parkway Drive to Route 199 as a precautionary measure and decided to keep the road closed until the pipe and road repair is complete.
Normal water main breaks take from a few hours to a few days to repair. However, this particular break and repair is complicated by a nearby large diameter, high pressure natural gas line and the size of the water pipe itself. The water main must be drained before excavation can begin and that work is currently underway. In addition, the Parkway is not a typical city or county asphalt road. The Parkway is paved with exposed aggregate concrete. If Waterworks has to remove a portion of the road and replace it, the curing of the specialized concrete could take upwards of 28 days according to Parkway officials.
The 42-inch pipe is one of several that transfers untreated water from Waterworks’ western water sources (Chickahominy River, Diascund Reservoir and Little Creek Reservoir) to the terminal reservoirs (Lee Hall and Harwood’s Mill). The terminal reservoirs feed Waterworks’ two treatment plants. As with most pipe breaks, this repair will have no impact on water quality or Waterworks’ ability to produce water.
Waterworks is working closely with officials at Colonial National Historical Park to establish a repair timeline that minimizes the road closure, however, the decision to reopen the Parkway remains the responsibility of the National Park Service, the owner of the Parkway.
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