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Wrightsville Beach
Friday, March 29, 2024

Water main break, water advisory affects businesses on south end 

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A ruptured water main pipe in Wrightsville Beach caused one restaurant to shut down this week and caused other disruptions while crews worked to repair the pipe.

Since the evening of Monday, Nov. 30, the town has had a boil water advisory for businesses and residents from Causeway Drive south to Jack Parker Boulevard. On Tuesday, Dec. 1, South Beach Grill at 100 S. Lumina Ave. announced it would be closed until the repairs are finished.

Town officials said they believed repairs to the broken pipe would be completed on Thursday, Dec. 3, but the boil water advisory may not be lifted until Friday, because even after the pipe is repaired, the town will still have to test the water. The broken water main is located on Waynick Boulevard near Chadbourn Street.

The boil water advisory is necessary because of the threat that disease-causing bacteria could flow back into the water line, a town press release stated.

“We don’t think that the threat is that high, but we have to issue the water advisories,” said town manager Tim Owens.

The water main pipe had several breaks in it, Owens said, and was caused by a storm drain drop inlet box that was directly over the water pipe. While storm drains are not normally built over top of a water pipe, in this case officials say the drain was probably placed there as a result of the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s widening of Waynick Boulevard from two lanes to four.

Over time, the mortar of a drop inlet will give out and cause it to shift, which in this case caused the ruptures to the water main pipe, Owens said.

“There was so much rain this year, the box moved around and created a problem,” he said. “It was exacerbated because it was an older line with older valves that don’t hold pressure like they should.”

Additionally, because the box had shifted, it caused several breaks in the pipe, requiring a longer, 24-inch clamp to make the repairs, which had to be ordered. Owens said the public works department checked with other utilities in the region, but none had any available clamps of that size.

In addition to the boil water advisory, the water main break also resulted in intermittent water pressure issues for the affected area and the town requested that residents and businesses conserve water whenever possible.

One business affected by the break was the Blockade Runner Beach Resort.

“It’s not a good situation, but it can’t be helped,” said the resort’s general manager, Nicolas Montoya. “Nobody has left because of it.”

Both Owens and Montoya agreed it was fortunate the problem occurred during the winter and not the busy tourist season.

“Everybody’s been patient and understanding,” Owens said. “It could have been in the summertime, which would have been worse.”

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