By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
A break in the city water main on Halibut Point Road this morning disrupted traffic and nearby businesses and led to canceled classes at Blatchley Middle School.
The break and the subsequent repair work caused water to be cut off to the school, homes and businesses in the 700 block of Halibut Point Road, Lakeview Drive, Crabapple Drive, AC Lakeside Value Center and Blatchley, city officials said.
Those responding to the emergency reported receiving reports of the possible break between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. City crews finished repairs and restored water service by 10:30 a.m.
The fire hall and police department received the first calls and closed the area around 6:30 a.m.; and the city environmental division (water and wastewater) rerouted traffic. City Environmental Superintendent Shilo Williams arrived at the site soon afterward as city crews were mobilizing for repairs, she said.
Williams said when she arrived this morning she saw the asphalt “heaved up,” water bubbling up out of the middle of the street, and response teams at work.
The 8-inch city water main is located five feet below the surface of the road. The line serves homes all the way out Halibut Point Road, but crews closed valves to isolate the affected area to minimize disruption in service to the community, Williams said. The crews closed the break with a repair band, and re-pressurized the system.
All was going well this afternoon, Williams said.
Williams said the break was not surprising, considering unusually cold weather and temperatures as low as 12 degrees Wednesday night.
“As the ground freezes it can put force onto pipes and cause a break,” she said. “Crews worked tirelessly to make repairs. I’d like to thank the crew for the hard work. We’re lucky to have such rock stars working for the city.”
School Superintendent Frank Hauser said he had a quick conversation with Blatchley Principal Ben White about canceling classes, and getting the word out immediately to teachers, parents and staff. The word reached most families before the kids left for school, he said.
Hauser said the decision to call off classes was a comparably easy call to make.
“No toilets or restrooms, no handwashing, no potable water for drinking for staff and students,” he said. But at the same time, he said, he realizes a closure has effects on the entire school community.
“We’re hoping it will be fixed today – if we have to close a second day we’ll be looking at remote learning options,” Hauser said. “The goal is to have students in school and we don’t make the decision (to close) lightly. Any time we have disruption to the instruction day it has an impact on families and kids.”
Hauser said later today that school would resume on Friday morning, and students and staff have been notified.
Some of the middle school’s 45 teachers and staff went inside the building to get materials they needed and made arrangements to work elsewhere for the day, Hauser said. The parents of the 270 students were notified by email and a Remind App text, and a Facebook post was put up on the Sitka School District page.
The school district also advised the public of possible delays in bus service because of the detours around the break area.
Hauser said although emergency school closures are infrequent they do happen. His last one was when he was principal of Service High School in Anchorage and a 7.2 earthquake struck the city. Water was shut off as a precaution, and the high school staff had to arrange the quick evacuation of 1,600 students.
