The city and the Cleveland Division of Water will look into why 11 water mains broke last week on Jonathan and Courtland Drives and Montclare Boulevard.
That’s what City Service Director Joe Walker told Cleveland.com on Tuesday (July 23). The breaks occurred on July 16 at Strongsville’s northwest corner. “I’ve never seen so many breaks pop at one time like that,” Walker told the crowd.
Walker stated that repair technicians from the Cleveland Division of Water accidentally broke a natural gas line while digging in the area following the water main break.
Columbia Gas, the neighborhood’s natural gas provider, reported that one gas line on Montclare was destroyed on July 17 “by a third-party utility.” “Our crews and the Strongsville Fire Department monitored the situation until repairs could be completed,” said Bill Loomer, a Columbia Gas spokesperson.
“There was no danger to the community and no evacuations were necessary.”
Walker felt that all water mains on Jonathan, Courtland, and Montclare had been fixed by Tuesday morning, however, not all holes had been closed. “Not all the restoration has been completed, but we will follow up with Cleveland Water,” Walker told the crowd.
“They do the backfilling and driveway repairs, and we (the city) will assist with lawn repairs.”
However, Danielle Miklos, spokesman for Cleveland Water, stated that the division just backfills the holes. She stated that the city is liable for final asphalt rehabilitation. Walker also stated that the city will deploy street sweepers to Jonathan, Montclare, and Courtland to remove mud, dirt, and debris from the streets once the property repair work is completed.
Patrick Mahoney, a Jonathan resident, told Cleveland.com on Monday that neighbors have been discussing numerous theories regarding the origin of the water main breaks.
Some people speculated that the storm sewer installation on Prospect Road had anything to do with it. Jonathan runs east-west off Prospect, with connections to Montclare and Courtland.
Mahoney stated that the installation of storm drains on Prospect was completed within the last two weeks. Workers have been doing some basic restoration work in preparation for landscapers to arrive and sow grass.
Walker, however, denied that the water main breaks were related to the Prospect sewer project.
Cleveland Water agreed.
“We don’t know what caused the breaks,” Miklos told cleveland.com late Tuesday via email.
“It is possible that a hydrant was closed too quickly during a routine flushing in the area, causing a highly localized pressure surge that led to the breaks,” Mahoney claimed he spotted the water main break the morning of July 16. Water was pouring down Jonathan.
The breaks did not happen all at once. According to Mahoney, there were originally seven breaks. As water division crews arrived and began digging, further water main sections ruptured.
Employees couldn’t keep up.
“Water from one break ripped out my neighbor’s tree lawn,” Mahoney told me. “The water ran for 36 hours, bubbling like a fountain.” The repairs appeared to be complete that afternoon, so Mahoney and his wife went for a walk. Then they noticed additional water bubbling up in another spot.
Mahoney stated that some families were without water for several days.
One of his neighbors works at Home Depot, and the company donated a truckload of water to the three streets. “Everyone got two or three cases of water on their porch,” Mahoney told me.
Mahoney claimed to have smelled natural gas at some point. However, neither one from the city nor Columbia Gas contacted him about the gas leak.
He stated on Monday that he could no longer smell natural gas. Mahoney stated that everything has been dry since Saturday. Water division personnel have been rebuilding destroyed aprons and walkways.
“What bothers me the most is nobody from the city came down the street that I know of to tell us what was happening and why, and that they were on top of it, and provided support for people who didn’t have water,” Mahoney told the media.
Walker explained that the city did not go door to door in Jonathan, Montclare, and Courtland because it did not know what caused the breaks and Cleveland Water is in charge of repairs.
“We knew there were residents without water, but we are in the Cleveland water system and rely on their assistance,” Walker said to us.
“I believe Cleveland Water gave an excellent response and even pulled in a second crew.”
Miklos advised residents with damaged properties to contact their home insurance companies for assistance. They can then submit a claim to the Cleveland Law Department at 216-664-2859.