Wenatchee: Water Restrictions Lifted, Road Closure Extended

The City of Wenatchee has repaired a defective sewer pipe on Olds Station Road, allowing residential and commercial customers in Olds Station, Chatham Hill and Sunnyslope to resume regular water use after several days of rationing.

A damaged portion of the sewer main was fixed, and a new pipe installed.

"We had a sewer main break that occurred," explains Public Works Director Tom Wachholder. The break was deep and "complex," Wachholder says, "so we had to call in contractors to assist on an emergency basis."

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"At about 1 a.m. [Thursday], repairs were made, [but] we had to some extensive testing on the system to ensure everything operated normally."

"Big kudos to the Public Works team. We had crews working around the clock for a 36-hour period - split shifts, plus we had mutual aid from Douglas County Sewer District." That amounted to four trucks "working tirelessly" to restore the sewer lift station. Wachholder elaborates.

"There's areas in the city sewer system that are below the elevation of the wastewater treatment plant, so the sewer is unable to gravity-feed to the wastewater plant. In those circumstances, the system has what's known as lift stations: a series of pumps that literally pump sewer up to the gravity system."

This is all very welcome news. Olds Station Road will, however, remain closed into next week as restoration efforts continue, Wachholder says. (A map of the road is viewable here.)

"We have to restore the roadway to get it passable. The excavation required is - there's a very sizable hole in the roadway required to gain access."

Meanwhile customers had, since Tuesday, been under advisement to limit water consumption. This applied to Chelan PUD water customers as well, Wachholder says.