FRIDAY, May 1, 2026 |
Photo – Rawlins City Crew works to repair high-pressure water line – Courtesy City of Rawlins
Two separate water main breaks this week have Rawlins officials asking residents to conserve water.
Around 7:30 a.m. Monday, the City of Rawlins Facebook page reported a water main break in the 2900 block of Shetland Drive on the north side of the city. Crews shut water off to the area while they worked on the line. The city said repairs can take an average of eight to twenty hours, depending on the size and type of the failure. By 6:30 that evening, the break was fixed and water service was restored to the affected area.
The following morning, the city announced another water main break, this time on the high-pressure line that carries treated water to the Painted Hills and Hospital storage tanks, which provide water to more than half of the city’s residents. Crews planned to replace at least 20 feet of the broken pipe, a job estimated to take more than 15 hours.
At the time, the two treated water tanks were reported to be 72 percent full. Households and businesses would need to rely on the stored water until the line was repaired. Repressurizing the pipe would take an additional six to eight hours after the failure was addressed.
The break occurred on the high-pressure pipeline that was identified as a priority one repair by the 2023 Wyoming Water Development Office’s 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. Together, all four priority one projects are estimated to cost between $20 and $50 million.
The high‑pressure line is scheduled to be replaced within the next five years. However, before work can begin, city engineers must find a way to keep the storage tanks full while the water is shut off during construction.
Meanwhile, crews working on the water main break discovered three separate ruptures in the high-pressure line, requiring them to replace approximately 50 feet of pipe. By 5:00 p.m. Tuesday evening, the water storage tanks were at 67 percent of capacity.
At 12:30 on Wednesday afternoon, the repairs were complete and the Painted Hills and Hospital tanks were 58 percent full. Four and a half hours later, at 5:00 p.m., the city’s social media account posted that another break occurred just north of the previous failure. Because the tanks were so low, crews chose to plug the hole and let the tanks fill before beginning repairs.
That evening, the city asked residents to conserve water by taking short showers and waiting to do laundry and dishes until repairs were complete. City officials emphasized the need to keep tank levels above 20 percent to ensure fire suppression systems remain operational.
Calls for reduced water use continued through Thursday as crews addressed additional breaks on the high‑pressure line. By 6:00 p.m. last night, another leak was discovered, requiring replacement of an additional 30 feet of pipe, and the storage tanks were at 40 percent. As of this report, residents are still being asked to conserve water.
