Cookeville Water Finished Repairs On Three Line Breaks

The Cookeville Water Department has dealt with three water line breaks since Monday due to freezing weather.

The three lines are located from Big Lots to Kroger on Jefferson Avenue. Water and Sewer Director Ronnie Kelly said the cast iron lines are not flexible and snap like a glass rod in low temperatures.

“The ground shifting,” Kelly said. “It just puts it in tension there, and it just can’t give enough to handle the ground, the movement of the ground. When the ground freezes and thaws, we usually experience this time of year or later on when it warms up in the spring, we may have another episode over.

Kelly said all repairs were completed by late Tuesday morning. Kelly said older areas of downtown Cookeville use the same type of lines, so the department is watching for breaks in those areas.

“The metal is in good shape,” Kelly said. “It is just a non-flexible type of pipe. We try to replace it when we can. The older parts of town are usually where cast iron lines are located.”

When repaired, the department cuts the broken section and installs a new portion of pipe. Kelly said repairing the lines was achieved in a timely manner.

“Our guys, this is what they do,” Kelly said. “They excavate it. They get the water cut off and have parts and pieces available to fix it. They know what they are doing it is just rough in the middle of the night with this weather.”