Manitou Springs crews repair town’s third water main break this year
Scott Harrison
MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Workers needed nine hours Tuesday to fix a broken water main on the west side of town, downhill from the Manitou Incline and Cog Railway.
The break was reported at around 1 p.m. on Ruxton Avenue, just north of the downtown roundabout and the shops on bustling Manitou Avenue.
Officials declared the break permanently repaired at around 10:30 p.m.; crews will return later to repave the excavated pavement.
The break happened a few blocks from a similar break on Ruxton Avenue two weekends ago; crews performed a temporary repair in five hours but will have to return later to do a more permanent fix.
Workers also must return to do more lasting repairs to a downtown water main break that happened in February on Manitou Avenue between Canon and Pawnee Avenues.
Last week, crews finished repairs to a collapsed sewer line at the intersection of Manitou Avenue and Crystal Park Road.
To prevent expensive and disruptive emergency repairs to aging utility infrastructure, the town has a program to proactively replace old lines — but it’s limited by available funding.
A current project is replacing sewer and water lines on Midland Avenue.
Crews are hoping for a break from repairing broken utility lines.