EAST SPENCER — A broken coupling in a water line on Waller Avenue that had water rushing down to Jackson Avenue and the pavement giving way has been repaired after several hours Tuesday.

Neighbors had noticed a wet spot in the road about 8 a.m. but it was not enough to cause alarm. By 10 a.m. there was a small flow down the side of the road and by just before noon, water was coursing down the street and bubbling up through the pavement itself, which was when the town was notified of the issue.

A resident at the scene said she was out for a walk when a neighbor pointed it 0ut to her and they called to report the problem, but she added they had seen water earlier that morning but it was such a small amount they thought nothing of it.

Water to residents east of I-85 had to be slowed to almost a trickle, leaving residents with low water pressure, from just after noon until about 3:30 p.m. so crews from Salisbury Rowan Utilities (SRU) could dig through the pavement to locate the break in the line. Water could not be completely shut off because it would have created a suction that would have pulled mud and debris into the line.

Crews brought in a jack hammer to break through pavement and exposed a gushing flow of water that ran across the entire side of a residence on the corner of Waller and Jackson, undermining a portion of the roadway and the resident’s driveway.

Pipes in the area are old, often installed 40 to 50 years ago if not more, and not particularly well mapped at the time. In addition, shut-off valves were not where they were expected to be, so attempts to shut off the water in a smaller area did not work. Fortunately the need to have the water flow reduced was not long, but crews had to wait for water flow to ease in order to gain access to the pipe. They also had to wait for other utilities — cable and gas — to come mark their own lines underground before digging. Cable was on scene within the hour, the gas company was about two hours getting on scene. Both had to be marked to avoid expensive damage to fiber optic cable and potentially dangerous damage to gas lines.

While water was restricted, Town Manager Michael Douglas notified East Spencer fire department that should there be a fire, they wold need to set up a tanker supply, but fortunately the need to did not arise. The town also did not have to shut off power to Aldi Distribution Center, which would have needed notification since their cooling system requires water.

During the repairs, crews used pumps to draw the water out of the hole that was about two and a half feet deep in order to expose the separated ends of the six-inch pipes. Fortunately the pipe itself was not broken and once the coupling was replaced, water was restored.

Douglas went out to the scene to see the extent of the damage and said SRU would repair the line, but the town will be responsible for repairing the surface of the roadway.