Water Main Break in 3900 block of Fountain Avenue

A water main break on Fountain Avenue temporarily disrupted service to several dozen houses late Tuesday morning and forced the closing of a small stretch of the road off Belvoir Avenue.

According to Tennessee American Water Co. officials, the 12-inch break happened at 11:14 in the 3900 block of Fountain Avenue.

Casey Allen, Operations Superintendent for the company, said at noon, that only about 40 residence in the immediate area have been effected by the break. At that time, Allen said he did not know how long it might take to repair the ruptured pipe.

“We will have to dig it up and see what it is,” he said. “Typically it may take four to six hours. If there are other utilities (near the pipe) it may take longer.”

Allen said the situation was helped by the installation of a valve installed a block west on Fountain. The valve allowed workers to shut off the water to this break in short order. The valve was installed there when the same 12-inch pipe ruptured several months ago.

Allen said houses in nearby areas should no longer be experiencing reduced water pressure.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.