Innovative Solution Maintains Water Service for Brunswick Customers during Main Repair

Progress continues on a complex water main repair on State Route 303/Center Road in Brunswick just east of Boyer Drive. On January 15, Cleveland Water contractors installed a line stop which will allow the water main repair to take place without interrupting water service to any nearby customers.

Valves that open and shut to control water flow in a water main are located about every 1,000 feet in this area of the Cleveland Water system. Usually, when repairing a main break, the two valves closest on either side of a break are closed, stopping water in that section of main so the repair can be made.

In this case, closing the two valves closest to the break would have left numerous businesses and residents along Cole Road and several customers on the north side of Center Road, including the Brunswick Library, without water for several days while the repair was made.

To prevent these businesses from having to close, Cleveland Water’s engineers developed an innovative emergency repair plan. The plan involves bypassing water from another water main to feed affected businesses and residents and installing a line stop on the broken water main.  

A line stop is a means of isolating a water main by putting a plug in the main where a valve does not exist. View a photo gallery of the installation process.

With water successfully sealed off from the break but flowing to customers, crews can now fix the main. This repair, which has additional complexities including the type of material the water main is made from, along with restoring the road will take another few weeks. Cleveland Water asks drivers for their continued patience along this section of road while our crews complete the project.