by Carol Dunn
LA VETA- After being notified in the local paper, La Veta residents were without water most of the day Fri. Jan. 16 as the Town’s water project took another big step toward completion. Between 9:30 am and 4:30 pm, the new plastic lines of the system were hooked up to one of the Town’s 10” water mains coming from the water plant. According to Shannon Shrout of the Town Maintenance Department, work on the water mains requires all water to be shut off because house shut-off valves are limited in the Town.
Chris Knowles, also a Town maintenance employee, said that after the water is turned back on, it appears to be cloudy because of air. Although the work crews try to bleed the air out of the water lines, some air gets forced into the water under pressure, similar to carbonation.
Pate Construction is working at the water plant now. Shrout explained that new water lines are chlorinated, flushed, tested by the State Health Department and then, if the water is legally potable, a pressure test is conducted. After that, houses can be hooked up to the new lines. Shrout said the Town’s employees will do “locates” for hooking up to existing valves.
Despite recent cold and windy days, the project is still on schedule. Knowles said the snow is a bigger problem than the cold temperatures, although the portions of the project requiring asphalt repaving will need to wait until warmer weather.
