Workers used a crane Wednesday to lift an excavator into the courtyard of Gardiner Area High School to fix a leaking water pipe, one of two area pipe bursts that required significant repairs.

Although classes were canceled at the high school Wednesday, completed repairs mean school is back on for Thursday.

A separate water main break in Augusta forced public works crews to repair a line near Cony circle.

Gardiner Principal Chad Kempton said Wednesday afternoon the water was back on at the school, and unless something else comes up, classes would be back to normal Thursday.

Workers planned to put a new flexible collar onto a pipe carrying water into the school. The pipe had four or five pinhole leaks that allowed water to go out into the courtyard, which is in the middle of the high school. The leak caused no damage to the school building, and most of the water was absorbed into the ground, said Jon Stonier, director of operations for School Administrative District 11.

Workers from West Gardiner-based McGee Construction were brought in to find and fix the leak.

Advertisement

However, the courtyard where the water leak occurred is surrounded on all four sides by the high school building, so the repair was no quick fix.

“It’s pretty impressive to pick up a rig of that size,” Kempton said of the excavator that was lifted by crane over a section of the high school and into the courtyard. “They did a good job fixing it.”

The water pipe is on Gardiner Area High School property and thus likely the responsibility of the school district to fix, not the Gardiner Water District. Stonier was unsure of the cost but said the funds will have to come either from a contingency account or from savings in the budget from other areas.

Gardiner Water District workers responded to the incident to turn the water on and off as needed.

Stonier said officials aren’t sure why the water pipe started leaking.

Kempton said high school teachers and other staff still worked Wednesday, either in the high school building or in other public buildings nearby, and the day became a workshop day.

Advertisement

SAD 11 students have had four snow days this year. It was not immediately clear whether high school students will have to attend an extra day of classes to make up for the high school being closed because of the water line break Wednesday.

State law requires Maine schools to be in session for at least 175 instructional school days a year.

However, state statute allows for waivers. The state commissioner of education may grant a waiver when an individual school is forced to close while all others in the district remain open, if the period of closure is for a short time, and if the majority of schools that serve the majority of students in the district will meet the minimum number of days, and it “is not practicable for economic or educational reasons to reschedule the canceled instructional days,” the statute states.

Meanwhile, in Augusta Wednesday morning and afternoon, a short section of Middle Street near Cony circle was closed to traffic because of a water main break below the street.

Greater Augusta Utility District workers were at the site Wednesday morning, digging down to the break so they could repair it.

About 100 yards of the one-way section of Middle Street, which comes off Stone Street, was closed.

Advertisement

The break was reported around 7:40 a.m. As of 9:45 a.m. crews were digging to reach and repair the apparent break, according to Mike Morey, engineering services supervisor for Greater Augusta Utility District.

The repair was completed around 2:30 p.m. Morey said the site would be filled in and that section of Middle Street would likely open back up around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Morey said the cause of the break in the area where the pipes are approximately 100 years old was unknown.

Two fire hydrants and water service to 11 district customers in the area were shut down because of the break. All affected customers were notified, Morey said. Water service was fully restored Wednesday afternoon.

Some water from the break ran onto Stone Street, so catch basins in the area were opened to allow the water to drain off, and the street was sanded.

Keith Edwards — 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @kedwardskj


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.