Customers in East Wilton were notified Monday that their water would be shut off Tuesday.
By Donna M. Perry
Staff Writer

WILTON – Water District employees chased a water leak Tuesday under Main Street and in the process chipped a water main.

The town’s water system map placed the main three feet away from where it was.

Wilton Water and Sewer District employee Clayton Putnam said a leak was reported Monday after water bubbled up near Cross Street that intersects at Main Street.

Customers in East Wilton were notified Monday that their water would be shut off Tuesday so that repairs could be made, Putnam said. Notices were placed in newspapers, also, he said.

By noon Tuesday, the leak had been located.

A lead goose neck that connects two pipes together had worn out.

“We tried to keep the water as long as possible,” Putnam said.

It was shut off at about 9:30 a.m., he said.

Putnam directed traffic and ate his lunch while he waited for a piece of 8-inch wrap around or a saddle to be found to repair the main.

The water main is OK, Putnam said, and changing the lead goose neck would take another piece of lead out of the system.

Lead pipes were used in the old days because of flexibility, he said.

Deb Foss, owner of Hometown Market, walked down the road.

She said she had prepared for the water outage.

A pump pumped water out of the large hole in the road as Cliff Lehigh, another Water District employee, cleared dirt from under the main for the repair.

By 2:30 p.m. most customers had water returned with the exception of those on Cross Street, Wilton Town Manager Peter Nielsen said.

Customers on Cross Street were expected to have water by the end of the day, Nielsen said.

The cost of the repairs would be unknown, he said, until the work was completed. An excavator and a dump truck had to be hired for the project, he said.

dperry@sunjournal.com

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