Water Main Repairs Complete, Testing Continues

The Louisville Water Company is slowly increasing the water pressure in a new section of pipe recently installed near the University of Louisville campus.The section replaces the main that ruptured last month, flooding U of L and leaving much of central Louisville under a boil advisory for days.The repairs took several weeks and water pressure has to be increased gradually to avoid damage to the new main or to pipes that have been without pressure since the break."It could take the rest of this week to do that. We're just monitoring the pressure as we go along, monitoring the quality. And right now, everything looks great," says spokeswoman Kelley Dearing-Smith.It's not yet clear why the main broke, and Dearing-Smith says engineers may never determine the cause."There's nothing that you look at and it's the a-ha moment for this," she says.The water company has a redundant system, so service has not been interrupted since it was restored. The repairs have cost more than a quarter million dollars, which will be paid out of a contingency fund.The westbound lane of Eastern Parkway that was closed during the repairs has been re-opened.