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City crews work to fix a water main on South First Street near downtown Aberdeen on Friday, March 27. Aberdeen Insider photo by Scott Waltman.
Water leaks that forced some businesses to temporarily close last week were the result of two separate water line breaks in the downtown area.
City Manager Dave McNeil said the initial leak happened at the Dacotah Bank construction site on South Main Street on Thursday, March 26. That ultimately led to a leak in a nearby city water main.
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That’s why water service was shut off in the area to make emergency repairs with little notice from the Public Works Department.
McNeil said crews working on the Dacotah Bank expansion project noticed water in their construction site.
The city responded to investigate the source of the leak and determined it was coming from the bank’s fire suppression system.
Because that leak was on private property, Dacotah Bank was responsible for arranging repairs, McNeil said.
“We had to shut water off to let them work on their site,” he said.
Fire suppression systems require specialized knowledge, which means the city wasn’t equipped to repair the line anyway, McNeil said.
The second leak on a city line occurred when the city shut off the water. It took the better part of Friday, March 27 to make repairs because underground utility lines beneath First Avenue Southeast had to be dug up, he said. City crews handled those repairs.
The water was shut off at 9:30 a.m. Friday for:
- South First Street from Third Avenue Southwest to Sixth Avenue Southwest.
- Fifth Avenue Southwest from South Main Street to South First Street.
- South First Street from Fourth Avenue Southwest to Fifth Avenue Southwest.
Three22 and Circus Sports Bar & Grill announced Friday that they were closed as a result of the work needed to repair the lines.
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Water service was restored late Friday afternoon, McNeil said.
The new building Dacotah Bank is building at 318 and 320 S. Main St. will include a rooftop bar for Three22.
