Tennessee American Water Company early Saturday completed the installation of a new 24-inch valve, hich had earlier in the week caused pressure issues and water outages.
Officials said the work was performed during the night hours to lessen the effect on the approximately 150 customers in the impacted area. Those customers were notified via the CodeRED communication system 24 hours in advance.
“We appreciate the community’s understanding while we worked safely to make this repair,” said Director of Operations Kevin Kruchinski.
“This new valve is one example of the infrastructure investments we make every day to make sure our drinking water system remains reliable. We know our customers are counting on it.”
The company put into service on Wednesday an emergency connection in cooperation with Eastside Utility District and the Chattanooga Fire Department. It installed a temporary pipe at the site of the broken valve. These measures were put into place to restore water service until the permanent repair was made.
On Tuesday evening, Tennessee American Water sent a notification to affected customers via CodeRed telephone software letting them know that they could possibly experience low water pressure or no water service. The alert was sent because of a 24-inch valve that had broken. Because the valve could not be opened, it affected water flow to two of the water system’s pressure zones east of Missionary Ridge. This area included East Brainerd, East Ridge, Lakeview, Ga., and Highway 58 and particularly higher elevations.
“We replace or upgrade $16 million worth of infrastructure each year,” said Engineering Manager Kurt Stafford. “Across the U.S. water providers face challenges with infrastructure that was put into the ground in mid-20th century and is reaching the end of its useful life.”