Water main break could take weeks to repair on Anna Maria Island bridge: County officials
ANNA MARIA ISLAND, Fla. - Customers of Manatee County Utilities on Anna Maria Island are being asked to reduce their water usage where they can after a section of a water main collapsed, dropping to the bottom of Anna Maria Sound Monday.
"We had a catastrophic event the other day, yesterday at about 4:00," Manatee County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge said. "Luckily, no one was in any danger. It was a blowout on the Manatee Avenue Bridge," he said.
Crews have been investigating and working to repair the broken water main since Monday evening, and they're now saying it could take weeks to fully repair. The water main section dropped off of Manatee Avenue Bridge.
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"Right now, we have about 1,000 feet of water main that has dropped off of the bridge, and the crews that responded were able to stabilize the pressure immediately," Manatee County Utilities Director Evan Pilachowski said during a Tuesday afternoon news conference.
Officials said that the broken 16-inch supplemental water main was installed in 1982, but it now sits at the bottom of Anna Maria Sound after falling from a series of hangars that held it under the bridge. The 24-inch main under the Cortez Bridge is functioning, officials said.
Friday, a few hangars on the bridge failed, officials said.
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"We were moving as fast as we could to institute those repairs, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t quite fast enough," Pilachowski said.
The repairs to the hangars required specialized equipment and materials, Pilachowski said.
Nearly 4,200 residents were initially notified of the service interruption Monday, county officials said.
A manager at Floridays Woodfire Grill and Bar said they had to close around six p.m. Monday because they didn’t have any water, but were back open Tuesday.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Ostenbridge said that water pressure had been restored to about 80 percent on Anna Maria Island. Crews quickly stabilized the pressure by closing valves on either end of the bridge.
"People are able to take showers. Restaurants can operate. Businesses are unaffected at this point, and so that's as a result of the quick response by our utilities department, by public works and county administration," the commission chair said.
Florida Fish and Wildlife and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office set up boys and officials warn boaters to stay in the channel.
"While the water main across the bridge is out, we will have some somewhat compromised fire flows on the island. So, we are asking people to conserve water," Pilachowski said.
Officials say West Manatee is borrowing a tanker truck from Parish as additional water supply.
The county is working with a local contractor to figure out the exact repair method for the main that will then be approved by FDOT.
Van Ostenbridge said the other side of the bridge was inspected Tuesday and they’re going to reinforce a couple of the hangars. Officials said they are also restricting any sort of directional drilling around the existing water main to make sure it does not go out as well.
For more information or to monitor the water main repairs, visit mymanatee.org.