SC - Water main breaks at East Lee, Edwards roads

By Sarah Garibaldi STAFF WRITER sgaribal@greenvillenews.com

TAYLORS -- Motorists traveling through the intersection of Edwards and East Lee roads faced some slippery conditions Thursday morning when a water valve started leaking and pouring water onto the roads.

Lynn Stovall, general manager for Greenville Water System, said the incident was minor. He said it occurred early when the packing around gears in an underground value became loose and allowed some water to escape.

"The water came up through that valve box, and it ran down the street," Stovall said, adding that a leak of this nature "is not totally uncommon, but it's not frequent either."

Debra Bryant, who works at the Shell gas station on the corner of Edwards and East Lee, said "there was water everywhere" when she went outside early in the morning.

"Traffic was backed up for a long time," she said.

The Highway Patrol was called to the intersection to help direct traffic when water on the road caused a small accident about 8 a.m. The Wade Hampton Fire Department also was on the scene.

Crews from the state Department of Transportation then put dirt on the road to keep it from getting too slippery.

Crews from the Greenville Water System fixed the leak quickly by operating the valve, which exercises the packing, makes it expand and seals the leak, Stovall said.

A water pipe farther down Edwards Road from the intersection broke Wednesday and was fixed about 8 that night. That break and the value leak were unrelated, and neither left residents in the area without water, Stovall said.

Crestmere Lane resident Grady Bryant said he didn't have any problems with his water Thursday morning, although it was "a little muddy."

"We didn't know the difference," he said. "It wasn't too bad."

http://www.greenvillenews.com/news/1208018.HTM

-- Doris (nocents@bellsouth.net), December 08, 2000