FUNKSTOWN —
Funkstown officials said Monday they are trying to get ahead of large leaks in the town’s water system.A water main break almost two weeks ago on Hebb Road was so large it put the town over budget for fixing water line breaks, though the total cost of the break isn’t yet known, Town Clerk/Treasurer Brenda Haynes said after Monday night’s mayor and Town Council meeting at Town Hall.
The Maryland Rural Water Association, using leak detector equipment, will help the town look for water leaks either Friday or early next week, Haynes said. The search might require water to be turned off at times, but Haynes said she expected water would be off for less than an hour, if at all.
The water main break in the 200 block of Hebb Road was discovered Feb. 1 after a UPS driver reported it, Councilman John Phillips III said.
Town officials didn’t know how long the line had been broken, but it had been awhile because about 3 to 4 feet of earth was washed away underneath almost one-fourth of the road’s width, Phillips said.
Phillips said he was thankful no one was injured.
The area was patched and will get permanent blacktop in the spring, Mayor Paul N. Crampton Jr. said.
Town officials are expected to discuss the cost of water main breaks this fiscal year during a workshop meeting at 6 p.m. Feb. 20 at Town Hall. They will be reviewing the first half of the budget year.
To help detect leaks more quickly, the town has applied to the Maryland Department of the Environment for a $300,000 grant for a new water meter system that could be read remotely from Town Hall, town officials said.
Now, water main breaks are discovered when water reaches the surface and someone notices, or when the water bill from the City of Hagerstown arrives, Crampton said.
Jeff Smith, who handles maintenance issues for the town, will be reading the meters on the town’s two main water lines from Hagerstown weekly to see if there is a bump in water usage that could signal another leak, Crampton said.
The town cannot afford more leaks like the one on Hebb Road, he said.
If the town gets the state grant, new water meters would be installed for residences and businesses on the town’s water system, Crampton said.
Crampton said the town has not received its water bill from Hagerstown yet, so he didn’t know how much the Hebb Road leak was going to cost.
