Charlie Brown water tower 'is not failing'

Jan. 24—A water main break in Pullman caused the town's Charlie Brown water tower to overfill, spewing water out of an overflow pipe Monday afternoon.

The leak was fixed within the day, and a solution was found for the water tower. Water services resumed to all affected customers by Monday evening, and the incident didn't affect Pullman's water quality, Pullman Public Works Director Sean Wells said Tuesday.

It was around 1:30 p.m. Monday that a water main ruptured on Ridgeview Street and Highland Way. Maintenance and operations crews found a 6-inch cast-iron pipe had broken, he said.

Wells said the break was caused by "cold snaps" the region has recently experienced. Below-zero temperatures rising to above freezing in a short timeframe puts stress on pipes, especially older ones.

The pipe's age and material were also factors in the leak. Wells said older pipes have a higher tendency to fail because they can become fragile, and the cast-iron material can become brittle over time.

"Things happen, unfortunately," Wells said. "But, our crews responded quickly and got everything back up and functioning."

Crews began work by lowering water pressure to the affected area, stopping the leak. Wells said the main serves neighborhoods in the area, and about 30 customers were temporarily out of water service Monday afternoon.

A portion of the street was excavated to repair the broken water main. Wells said water was restored to the area around 6:30 p.m. Monday night.

While the issue was being resolved, residents reported the water tower on Spring and Derby streets — known as the Charlie Brown water tower because of the illustration of the comic strip icon that has been on the tower for 60 years — was leaking down onto the sidewalks below, according to public records.

Wells said the tower is a couple of blocks from the initial break, and low water pressure caused the tank to drain. A low-level water sensor turned on pumps to refill the tank, but the high-level water sensor failed to shut them off when the water began to overfill. This caused the tower's overflow pipe to release water from the tank.

Crews were able to manually shut off the pumps and switch the tower's control to another tank that operates on the same pressure system on Sunnyside Hill. The issue was fixed within an hour, Wells added.

Crews are still investigating why the tank's high level sensor failed. Wells added the department is evaluating why it didn't turn the pumps off, and determining if it's an issue with the sensor itself or something else.

The issue with the Charlie Brown tank didn't affect water service. He added there were no damages caused by the overflow.

"The Charlie Brown tank is not failing," Wells said. "It's fine, structurally good."

Pullman's water quality was unaffected by the leak, he said. Rather than shut off water supply completely, crews kept a little water through the system to keep positive pressure. Wells said this pushes water from the inside out. If the supply was turned off completely, dirty water could be sucked back into the pipe.

He added the city has not received any dirty water complaints.

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com.