Emergency repair required JACKSON - The Jackson Township Municipal Utilities Authority (JTMUA) had to contend with a ruptured 16-inch water pipe that occurred during a violent storm on July 29. Officials said the rupture pipe was replaced within a few days. "During the storm on July 29 we had some power outages, in and out," said William Allmann, chairman of the JTMUA Board of Commissioners. "It created a hammer effect and broke a 16-inch raw water line at the Hyson Road plant." Allmann said the line goes from the wells outside to the building. Repairs began on July 30 and were expected to be completed by Aug. 1. Allmann said that rather than draw down water being held in storage tanks, the JTMUA asked customers to limit the use of water until the repairs had been completed. "We had plenty of water," he said. "It's just that the plant was temporarily down so we could not purify the water as fast if everybody was filling their swimming pools or watering their lawns." The JTMUA asked significant irrigation customers - primarily large residential developments - to voluntarily suspend their irrigation use. Allmann reiterated that the problem was not the amount of water, but the purification process which was slowed as a result of the broken pipe. Jackson itself is not on a water rationing program, he said. "At the end of June we went to a voluntary water restriction," he said. "We asked everybody to be more conservative. What hurts us the most is when it peaks. You go from a four-million-gallon day to an eight-million-gallon day and that's mainly from pools and watering the lawns." Allmann said residents should continue to conserve water through August. He said if an emergency arises, the JTMUA can purchase water from other sources. "The storage towers are full," he said. "We just want to stay on top of it and not deplete what we have." - Dave Benjamin