By Jim Beers
CHESTER – The City of Chester experienced a major water line break Tuesday July 19, 2022.
Chester Police discovered water flowing down State Street in front of the Gilster- Mary Lee building near Subway at 2 a.m.
Mayor Tom Page said, “This is a huge break for us. The police noticed water running all the way down the road by the firehouse early in the morning. Our City of Chester workers were here on the scene all night and have been working to control the break throughout the morning.”
One Street Department worker said the pile being repaired was steel and that the saws were having difficulty even cutting through the damaged area so that it could be replaced. Mayor Page said, “It has taken two pumps running continuously to keep the hole that was dug on State Street to reach the break clear enough for the workers to effectively work.”
At approximately 11:59 a.m. the City of Chester sent out a “Code Red” alert to citizens of Chester notifying them of the situation and asking them please refrain from any unnecessary water usage. The exact message read as such, “(Due) to a water main break, a ‘conserve water order’ has been issued by the City of Chester. Please refrain from any unnecessary water usage. A message will be sent out once repairs have been made.”
Chester Mayor Tom Page (right) checks out the scene.
During the ordeal several homes and businesses along the area of the break were without water and had to make other arrangements for their water needs.
Tom Welge President of Gilster-Mary Lee said, “We had no water in our building but there was a lot of water flowing down the street in front of our main building on State Street. The lack of water did not really hamper our production throughout the day, however we did have to make other arrangements for our normal daily water needs. We appreciate everything the City Employees did to try and get service restored.”
Workers completed repairs in the early evening hours and the City of Chester sent out a message to its citizens at approximately 7:55 p.m. canceling the “conserve water order”.