Water valve break repaired in Everett’s Port Gardner neighborhood

Published 4:27 pm Monday, April 25, 2011

EVERETT — Water was shut down in parts of the Port Gardner neighborhood Monday morning after a city contractor broke a water valve.

KLB Construction employees were working on a sewer replacement project around near 33rd Street and Tulalip Avenue when they damaged the valve, said Dave Davis, public works director.

Crews shut off the water and drained the line. It took about six hours to get the damaged valve repaired, he said.

Most of the water that gushed down 33rd Street was from draining the line.

The contractor was hired to replace mostly small-diameter pipes in the area, part of a larger project to update century-old sewer mains in Port Gardner.

“The sewer replacement project is in the same area as the water main,” said Mark Sadler, city project engineer.

City crews fixed the break but the contractor will pick up the bill, Davis said.

A preliminary estimate of the damage is around $15,000.

Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com