Crews Avert Sewer Pipe Spill By River

Using hydraulic jacks and sand, Spokane city crews kept a raw sewage pipe from bursting Saturday night on Northwest Boulevard.

The 36-inch sewer pipe was exposed when a water main broke about 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The spillage cut a 20-foot-wide gully out of the bluff above the T.J. Meenach Bridge. The concrete pipe was hanging about 6 feet above the gully.

Crews used hydraulic jacks to support the pipe while they trucked in sand to fill the gap.

It took about eight hours for workers to fix the water main and build the temporary support for the sewage pipe that carries North Spokane waste to the city treatment plan downriver.

Crews will begin building a permanent support system for the sewer pipe today, said Spokane water superintendent Frank Triplett. The job should take two days.

Recent cold weather fractured the brittle cast-iron water main, he said.

“When you get frost in the ground there is more downward force on the water main and that helps find the weak spots,” Triplett said.

It’s unknown how much water spilled from the 12-inch water pipe or how much the repairs will cost.

A six-block area along Fairview Avenue was without water until about 11 p.m. Saturday.

Several blocks of T.J. Meenach and Downriver drives were closed by the rocks and dirt covering the roads.