MONDAY, May 11, 2026 |
Photo – Water main break sign – Courtesy City of Rawlins
Rawlins officials discussed the most recent water main breaks.
During the May 5th Rawlins City Council meeting, Public Works Director Cody Dill updated the governing body on several water main breaks that occurred two weeks ago.
Dill said on Tuesday, April 28th, city crews detected a leak in the high-pressure line that carries treated water to the Painted Hills and Hospital storage tanks. The tanks provide water to more than half of the city’s residents. Dill said crews replaced 27 feet of broken pipe.
While addressing the original leak, crews discovered three separate ruptures in the high-pressure line, requiring them to replace approximately 50 feet in total.
The repairs were completed by Wednesday afternoon, but four and a half hours later crews found another break in an area just north of the previous failure. Public Works Director Dill said because the treated water tanks were so low at the time, crews chose to plug the hole and let the tanks fill before beginning repairs.
On Wednesday evening, the city asked residents to conserve water by taking short showers and waiting to do laundry and dishes until repairs were complete.
Calls for reduced water use continued through the week as crews addressed additional breaks on the high‑pressure line. Dill said another leak was discovered on Thursday night, requiring an additional 38 feet of pipe to be replaced.
Due to the treated water tanks being at only 35 percent of capacity, calls to conserve water remained in effect until Monday, May 4th.
Public Works Director Dill said the city lost 1.55 million gallons of treated water during the weeklong incident, adding that event cost the city between $35,000 and $40,000.
Dill and the City Council thanked the public works and water treatment staff who performed the repairs.
The breaks occurred on the high-pressure pipeline that was identified as a priority one project by the city’s 2023 Water Master Plan. Other high priority projects include revitalizing the Sage Creek Springs to provide more consistent water flows, repairing the 32-mile transmission line from the springs to the water treatment plant, and replacing the deteriorating Painted Hills and Hospital treated water storage tanks. Altogether, the four priority one projects are estimated to cost between $20 and $50 million.
As of May 6th, the city’s two treated water tanks were 84 percent full.
