Water restored to 7th and Washington street area; Boil Water Advisory issued

COLUMBUS, Ind. - At around 9 p.m. on Friday, Columbus City Utilities restored water to the properties on Washington, Franklin, 6th, and 7th Streets affected by the water main break that occurred late Thursday night. A "Boil Water Advisory" is in effect for 48 hours for several addresses in downtown Columbus.

The following locations are under the Boil Water Advisory through Monday morning, February 2:    

• 646 Franklin St.
• 411, 415, 417, 419, 421 7th St.
• 625, 627, 629, 637, 639, 641, 643, 645, 703 Washington St.

The Boil Water Advisory means individuals at the above addresses should boil water for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, making ice, and washing food. Water should be brought to a rolling boil for at least three minutes and allowed to cool before use. Water can safely be used for bathing, handwashing, and laundry.   

Below is a recap and a timeline of the incident.

On Thursday, January 29, at around 11:30 p.m., emergency services notified Columbus City Utilities (CCU) about a water leak near the intersection of 7th and Franklin Streets. Crews discovered a water main break in the vicinity.     

The team worked through the night to locate and shut off valves in an attempt to isolate and slow the leak while determining its exact location. This approach proved effective, although water continued to accumulate in the area.   

To aid CCU and the Columbus Department of Public Works, contractors from Dave O’Mara, Inc. and Bowen were called in to excavate through the frozen street and ground to install an insertion valve to halt the water flow. The Columbus Police Department was summoned to assist with pumping the accumulating water out of the affected area.     

By 3 p.m. on Friday, January 30, the workers successfully installed the valve and shut off the water supply, and by 9 p.m., CCU announced that water services were restored.   

On Saturday morning, January 31, Franklin Street will be open for traffic at the intersection of 7th Street. However, 7th Street between Washington and Franklin Streets will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

During the incident, the city was notified that 19 women and 6 children would be displaced due to the outage. City administration, along with United Way of Bartholomew County and ColumBUS Transit, coordinated efforts to relocate all 25 of them to a safe location until they can return home.

Other Departments assisting in the incident were the Columbus Engineering Department, Community Development, Bartholomew County Emergency Management, and Bartholomew County 911.