CARLISLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — A water main break in Carlisle forced Nicholas County Schools to close and hundreds of locals to go without water to begin the week.
The water line burst around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, prompting city employees from various departments to jump into action, according to Mayor Ronnie Clark.
“I had to call the school at 1 a.m. and say ‘Sorry, I know the kids are going to love me, but you might not. There’s no water so school has to shut down,’” said Clark.
In his years serving as mayor, Clark had never seen a water main break this bad.
“Generally, when you have a water leak, it's a bell crack, it goes around the pipe, but this one goes down the length of the pipe,” explained Clark. “Instead of replacing a two-foot section, we're taking out a 20-foot section because the whole pipe is bad.”
According to Clark, replacing the faulty pipe felt like a game of operation.
“Where the leak is located near a factory, we have multiple lines. We have gas we have to be especially careful of and we have three water lines,” said Clark.
By Monday afternoon, city employees had replaced the pipe, but the city remained under a boil water advisory.
In thinking back on several water issues in months past, some residents felt frustrated by the latest water fiasco.
“I just feel like It's unsafe, it’s unhealthy, and it's an inconvenience,” said Carlisle resident Tabitha Alexander. “I think little towns get looked over a lot.”
After a water main break in September, Alexander felt the annoyance all over again.
“It might not have been this long, but we were out for several hours, and I had some friends who lost their water heaters because people don't know to turn off their water heaters, and elements will burn up if there's no pressure coming in,” said Alexander. “So, it's just frustrating on a lot of different fronts.”
In 2022, Governor Beshear’s office awarded the city of Carlisle $93,435 to fund improvements to the area’s water intake system and pump station to improve the city’s water system at large.
In the same news release, Carlisle was said to have invested an additional $93,435 to replace approximately 1,750 feet of unlined cast iron water main with new pipe to reduce maintenance, water loss and hazards associated with occasional main line breaks.
While grateful for the grant funding, Clark said the money feels like a drop in the bucket considering the millions of dollars needed to update aging infrastructure.
“I've got a line down here on Main Street that was put in in 1914 and it’s still in service,” said Clark. “We're in the process of asking for grant and loan money to replace this line, and you're talking about $2.4 million to run about two-thirds of it.”
As problems persist and periodic water main breaks halt community happenings, many are worried about what’s going to happen when the pipes freeze this winter.
“It isn't even getting cold yet and we're having water main breaks,” said Alexander. “I can't imagine how it's going to be when it gets colder. It's kind of scary when you don’t know.”
