Kalona
The City of Kalona responded to a major water main break in the 900 block of North 14th Street last Thursday afternoon.
According to city officials, crews were unable to isolate the damaged water main and reduce the pressure enough to safely make repairs. As a result, the city shut down the water tower at noon to relieve pressure on the system. Water service was restored around 2:30 p.m.
Because of the water main break, a boil order was issued at 2:30 p.m. and remained in effect until Friday.
The outage temporarily forced several businesses to close because they were without water. Before repairs were completed, the city said it did not have an estimated timeline for restoring service.
Once water service returned, a precautionary boil order was issued for residents and businesses north of the English River. The city worked with ION Environmental during the response and later conducted water quality testing at six DNR-approved locations to ensure the drinking water was safe before the boil order could be lifted.
Following the repairs, the city announced on Facebook that the pumps had been reengaged to refill the water tower from the North water plant. Residents and businesses were also asked to conserve water while the distribution system returned to normal.
The boil order was lifted at 4 p.m. Friday, July 17, allowing residents to once again use the water for drinking, cooking and other household purposes.
The break also caused water to infiltrate portions of the sanitary sewer system, resulting in flooding in eight homes, according to Kalona City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh.
"There were varying levels of damage," Schlabaugh said. "Some homes had several inches of water inside, while others had less severe damage, mainly involving saturated carpeting."
Josh Stai, who lives on J Place, described the damage to his basement, where about seven inches of what he was told was Class 3 brown water entered the basement.
Before the flooding, the finished basement featured a home theater and even a prop from Top Gun: Maverick. However, because of the damage caused by the water main break, much of the basement had to be gutted.
Although he was surprised there was very little odor, most of the belongings had to be thrown away. Despite the damage, he praised the city's quick response and said Paul Davis Restoration was very helpful throughout the cleanup process.
The flooding backed up through basement toilets, damaging personal belongings and leaving a mixture of sewer and water in affected homes. Schlabaugh said the mixture was heavily diluted.
To help residents recover, the city partnered with Paul Davis Restoration.
"Paul Davis Restoration is working with homeowners on the mitigation efforts, including removing damaged carpet, cleaning up mud and silt, and drying and sanitizing the homes," Schlabaugh said. "After that, we'll help with removing household contents. Items that can't be salvaged will be discarded, while others will be cleaned and stored on city property until they're ready to be returned. We're working closely with Paul Davis and the eight homeowners to make the recovery process as smooth as possible."
Several local businesses and organizations were also affected by the boil order. Kalona Coffee House, Cozy Corner Café, Friendship Center Dining at Pleasantview, the Kalona YMCA and the Kalona Public Library temporarily closed, while Kwik Star and Casey's suspended sales of hot food.
To assist residents during the outage, Vetter's Culligan Water of Coralville donated bottled water for anyone in Kalona who needed it.
After the incident, Schlabaugh thanked everyone who helped with the response.
"It was an enormous amount of water in a very short period of time," he said. "ION Environmental handled the cleanup efforts, while the Kalona Fire Department assisted by providing water during the initial response and later during the cleanup."
Anyone who experienced damage related to the incident was asked to contact the City of Kalona at 319-656-2310 or Paul Davis Restoration at 319-848-4259.