Broken Water Main, Repairs in Downtown The Dalles

Updated February 1st, 2021 3:30 PM

Regulatory Compliance Manager, Jill Hoyenga said that an investigation into the cause of the break revealed that there was no operational cause. The city owned water main’s break was caused by aging pipe failure. “The cast iron pipe was installed in the early 1950’s and was resting on a rock…over time the ground settled and it caused the main to break.”

“Pipes in service in The City of The Dalles are made of cast iron or ductal iron.”

It is unknown whether the city installed the pipe or if it was installed by a contractor.

The break revealed that the storm water collection system is working as intended. And successfully prevented the break from causing flooding in the downtown area.

“It handled the gushing water beautifully so there was no flooding,” said Hoyenga. “We’ve been making a special effort these last few years to do street sweeping and leaf collection to keep the storm system open. So, that paid off in this emergency.”

Breaks in larger city water mains are rare.

“Large water mains do not need to be repaired very often. The last large main failure was in 2013. The city usually only does two or three repairs on smaller water mains every year,” said Hoyenga. “The large water mains don’t need to be repaired very often because we have a water main replacement and renewal program in place and the purpose of that program is to maintain water reliability. We do that on a regular basis in order to prevent breaks like this,” said Hoyenga. “We try to be very proactive about our water main replacement and renewal program.”

January 30th, 2021

The Dalles—A water main break occurred in the downtown area of The Dalles late at night on Saturday January 30, 2021. Road closures are expected to be in place all day Sunday January 31, 2021 through February 4, 2021 while the City of The Dalles Public Works Department repairs the broken water main and damaged roadway.

A full road closure will be in place on E 3rd St. between Jefferson St. and Laughlin St. A detour to E 1st St. is in place for eastbound traffic.

The intersection of Jefferson St. and E 2nd St. is closed. Jefferson St. is closed at the alley between E 3rd St. and E 4th St. The alley will remain open to through traffic.

Please be alert to the traffic control signs and drive with caution for the safety of the utility workers. 

Some downtown businesses have been notified that water service will be shut off during the water main repair. 

Other downtown area customers may experience water flowing from a tap to be discolored from stirred up sediment or milky white caused by tiny air bubbles. Although discolored water won’t make you sick, you might want to flush the pipe by running the water for several minutes before drinking or washing. 

If the water does not clear, please contact the Public Works office at 541-296-5401.

Pictured: Road Closures (in red) due to water main repair work. Detour route is in orange.