
Eighty-eight years ago this week, Louisville Water faced unprecedented challenges caused by the 1937 flood which finally crested on January 27. Battling the effects of a city submerged in water, Louisville Water’s team got creative and used a steamboat’s boilers to power a steam engine at the pumping station. The mission was clear: deliver water to our customers who rely on it.
That same grit and determination to deliver high-quality drinking water are evident today at Louisville Water amid the extreme cold that’s held a tight grip since the winter storm on January 5.
“Yes, it’s cold, but we have a job to do and that is to fix a main break to get people back ‘in water’. So mentally, you just focus on what needs to be done and do it,” said Plumber Leader Shawn Shaw.
The first few days following the winter blast might be described as the calm before the storm in a sense. Field crews worked routine hours and employees at the water treatment plants prepared by ensuring reservoirs and tanks were at capacity. Once the water temperature leaving the plants started to dip below the magic number of 39 degrees, the number of main breaks steadily increased.
“It’s been a very busy week so far and we expect that to continue with water temperatures leaving Crescent Hill (Water Treatment Plant) just above freezing. We anticipate main break activity to stay elevated for the next several days, even when warmer temperatures arrive,” said Joe Schmitt, the director of distribution operations.
Crews have repaired more than 80 main breaks since January 13, with the bulk of those being smaller pipes in neighborhoods. Plumber Leader Barron Combs started his shift at 7 o’clock Tuesday morning and ended it after 7 p.m. amid single-digit temperatures with wind chills that made it feel below zero at times. His first job brought some headaches.
“It was under a driveway and had electric (line) running right next to it and AT&T.”
Managing through the obstacles of that repair made the crew’s second job a “sweetie” as Combs called it.
“This one’s wide open in the dirt; came up, started digging, piece of cake. This is the one we’ve been waiting for; we’ve been getting nothing but tough ones I guess you could say, for the last week,” he shared.
The last week or so has also kept the Crescent Hill plant and its employees busy. The combination of main breaks and customers heeding the advice to run a trickle of cold water from their faucets kicked water production into high gear.
“Our current production levels are nearing average summertime demand levels,” explained Director of Production Operations Scott Smith. He added, “Producing this amount of water in abnormally cold temperatures and providing heat to the facility present significant challenges to the efficient operation of the water production process.”
Meanwhile, Emergency Turner Quintin Sweeney worked his way through a list of tickets. One of those took him to Old Louisville to investigate a customer’s report of not having water. While it’s not often that it turns out it’s Louisville Water’s side of the line that is frozen, that’s exactly what happened.
The friendly customer told Louisville Water he’s newer to the area and not used to bitterly cold weather like this. Communications Specialist Kathleen Speicher offered him some ways to help prevent frozen pipes inside his home, and stressed the importance of locating his main water shutoff valve.
Armed with good information, he headed back inside, and Sweeney headed off to his next job, seeming not to notice the cold much.
“The company provides us with the clothes and everything that we need. The cold doesn’t really bother me, as you can see, I’m well-wrapped up,” Sweeney said.
Shaw is also a fan of layering up and keeping his ears, hands, and feet warm.
“It definitely feels too cold sometimes to be out here. Sunday night was cold enough that when my hands got wet and I touched the cold pipe, it was trying to freeze and stick to me. It will get cold enough that some of your tools don’t want to work like they should, pumps try to freeze up while pumping water, and excavators seem to run a little slower with the hydraulic fluids wanting to freeze.”
As our employees work long hours, into the night, some overnight, and others on the weekends, we kindly ask you to be patient and please use caution as you drive by work sites. We all share a common goal: to keep Louisville Pure Tap® flowing fresh from the faucet and to get home safely.
While spring might seem far off in the distance, Combs is taking it all in stride until then.
“(It’s) What I’ve come to expect over the last 16 years, another day at the office.”