Broken pipe blamed on metal fatigue

By Monday afternoon, crews with Missouri American Water company had fixed a broken pipe which led to thousands of customers losing water pressure for a couple of hours Sunday night.

Gilbert Cole, operations superintendent for Missouri American Water in Jefferson City, said the pipe split, probably due to a pressure surge, around 8:30 p.m.

The pipe was located on Dix Road in between Missouri Boulevard and U.S. 50.

"This happens often as pipes age," Cole said.

Cole said they shut down the pipe and isolated the leaking section, but didn't repair the pipe because of lightning from storms coming through Sunday night.

They bypassed the broken pipe and were able to get water to customers through other nearby lines.

This 12-inch line is one of the bigger distribution lines in the city, serving not only a number of residences, but also many businesses along Missouri Boulevard.

The break also raised the pavement on Dix in several spots.

Jefferson City public works crews shut the road down Monday afternoon to one lane to make repairs. Crews will continue work on Dix Road, reducing traffic to one lane in both directions between Missouri Boulevard and the U.S. 50 overpass until noon Thursday.

"This pipe had been in the ground for quite a while," Cole said. "This was not a weather-related issue. If we see breaks at this time of the year, it's due to metal fatigue or pressure surges."