General Principles for the Control of Water Main Breaks

inconvenienced. Telephone trunk lines to the utility become clogged with customer calls requesting restoration of service. It is the utility's obligation and duty to restore service with efficiency and dispatch. To do this requires organization and planning. Quick and efficient location and repair of main breaks is one yardstick by which a utility's performance can be measured. There are others, but this is one area in which a utility can score with proper advance planning. This discussion will deal with pipeline breaks which cause reduced pressure or a service outage, and not with small leaks, which increase the amount of water unaccounted for but do not interfere with customer service. The