Water main break closes Cornell

Local photographer Bob Porter happened on the scene and got some great shots. (more below)

At about 3:45 pm on Friday, July 30, a 12” high-pressure water pipe broke under Cornell Road at 119th. The break caused a large hole to open up in Cornell Road. County highway workers closed Cornell from Saltzman to Cedar Hills Boulevard, and 119th from McDaniel to Cornell, to through traffic. The pipe was quickly repaired by Tualatin Valley Water District (TVWD), and the road was repaired and re-opened by Sunday.

Frank Reed, TVWD spokesman, says that their engineers are still studying the cause of the break and at this point “everything is just speculation, we may not ever know exactly what caused this.” At least 1.1 million gallons of water flowed from the break, mostly into nearby Cedar Mill Creek.

TVWD engineers took the broken pipe back to the office to study it.

At least one customer lost all water service during the incident, and the district received many calls from customers with low pressure. The pipe serves the higher elevations in the Cedar Mill and Bonny Slope areas.

TVWD hired Northwest Earthmovers to repair the road since they already had equipment nearby for their work on the Saltzman Road project. Estimated cost of the repairs is $75,000-$85,000.