Water Main Break in Victoria Result of Utility Company Mishap

By Brian Nowlin, Staff Writer

VICTORIA – Schools were closed in Lunenburg even before the snow started on Friday after a water main break in Victoria on Wednesday. The notice was sent out to parents and Victoria residents were notified of the incident after a utility company drilled through the water line while working on placing one of their utility poles along Route 49 toward Crewe.

Victoria Town Manager Rodney Newton said that following the break, members of the Victoria Police Department and Victoria Fire and Rescue actually went door to door in order to inform residents of the situation. Media alerts were also issued, including on Richmond area television stations.

The town and schools also issued an advisory stating, “The Town of Victoria advises that potable or suitable drinking water is not currently available. All schools will be closed. To repair the break, the elevated water tank has been valved off which has resulted in no water pressure throughout the distribution system.”

Mr. Newton said that anytime a situation like this takes place, the safety of town residents and maintaining proper water quality are top priorities. In this situation the water samples were taken on Wednesday and Thursday following the repairs to the system. They were then sent in for the proper testing procedures and once the results were found through the Virginia Department of Health testing requirements, the water was available to residents once again.

Mr. Newton said that residents in Victoria were able to use their water again without any precautions around 3:06 p.m. on Friday and any boiling restrictions were removed at that time. While the incident did cause some inconvenience to local residents, the town handled the issue swiftly and repaired, tested and resumed all water availability once it was confirmed that it was safe for the public.