No Rush To Fix Water Main Leak In Minturn

MINTURN, Colo. (CBS4)- A water main leak has been flowing for about a week in Minturn but there's no rush to fix it despite drought conditions.

"We think we're making the right decision even though it's hard to watch it leaking," said Minturn Town Manager Jim White.

The water is pouring out of the ground on Highway 24 at a rate of a couple thousand gallons a day from a tank the Town of Minturn owns.

Crews won't be able to get the leak until August 6.

"It's not so much that we don't have any urgency it's just that we have a couple things working against us," said White.

The town only has two public works employees and they are still working on another leak in another part of Minturn.

Since the leak is coming up through Highway 24 there is a permitting process with the Colorado Department of Transportation before any work can begin.

A heavy front loader did drive over the highway where the leak is and engineers have already tested the stability of the road.

"It's been a little bit of gearing up for it to be right and once again we get in the hole we're ready for whatever it is to be taken care of," said White.

White admits they won't know how big a problem the leak is until the asphalt is ripped up to reveal the leak.

The Copper Triangle bicycle race will go through Minturn on Saturday. More than 3,300 cyclists are expected to ride along Highway 24 but the leak isn't expected to impact the ride.

Minturn officials said they would rather take their time with repairs instead of rush them along.

"We thought that would be really disruptive to our businesses and possibly cause problems with the ride on Saturday," said White. "With all the other factors around this issue we thought to do it right rather than quickly."

This isn't the only issue along Highway 24 this summer. A sinkhole has kept one lane closed of the highway on Tennessee Pass between Leadville and Minturn for several weeks. That repair is expected to be completed before the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.

An independent contractor for Minturn said the leak could be spewing as many as 4,000 gallons a day but it's not enough to cause concern for water supplies.