The Sleepy Eye Water Department employees are used to getting calls at all hours of the night for water main breaks but when the alarm company awakened them this morning they were in for quite a shock.
Thursday (2/2) morning at approximately 5 a.m. the call came regarding an alarm sounding in their own facility, the Power Plant.
The sight was something to behold as a main water line burst in the basement of the Power Plant causing quite a mess.
The 10″ line broke underneath the Jaycees meeting room, causing the floor to buckle upward several inches. That was only the beginning of the damage.
Pressure from the water caused freezers and a refrigerator in the adjacent Food Shelf to be knocked over. Tables and chairs were turned upside down. Food was floating throughout the room. Thirty-eight inches of water filled the hallway outside the Food Shelf.
Park and Rec. equipment located in a room across the hallway was heaved about. Down the hallway, over 100 feet away, the electric department felt perhaps the greatest loss. Meters were soaked and equipment was knocked off the shelves. Several street light reflectors were broken. Farther to the west, an estimated 150′ away, transformers soaked up 13″ of water.
City workers spent the day disposing of the damaged food items from the Food Shelf. Items that were able to be salvaged were taken to the Masonic Building for storage. The Food Shelf will be closed until a temporary location can be found.
Heiderscheidt Digging dug a hole in front of the Ambulance Garage door accessing the water line leading into the building to secure the damaged pipe. Businesses from Hwy 4 to 1st Ave were without water for several hours while the maintenance work was being done. Water remains turned off in the Power Plant building. The Public Restrooms will be out of service for several days.
The City’s insurance company will be assessing the damage as soon as possible.