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Water Main Break Forces Closure Of Elementary School

By Shawn Chitnis

GREELEY, Colo. (CBS4)- A water main break late Sunday flooded Meeker Elementary School and forced district leaders to close the campus early Monday morning unsure when students will return to classes.

"We had water gushing from the northeast side of the building on the exterior of the building as well as the interior of the building," said Dr. Deirdre Pilch, superintendent for Greeley-Evans School District 6.

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The break happened at 35th Avenue and 22nd Street. Crews ripped up the road creating a huge hole that closed off the area in neighborhoods near the school.

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The break affected water pressure to many customers living in central Greeley.

"About 4 o'clock in the morning we got a call from the Meeker Elementary School that they were going to be closed for the day because of the water main break," said Dustin Carr, who lives nearby the school. Carr's daughter is in the second grade. 

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The school district sent out emails and posted on their website immediately that school would be closed once they learned about the damage inside. They also called parents hours before school was scheduled to start.

"It quickly seeped into the building, water and mud really throughout the campus," said Dr. Pilch. 

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A lot of the mud was removed by the afternoon and crews had pulled carpets and rugs. They were still cleaning tiles inside the school and moving around furniture. Crews were on site pumping out water from the school for most of the day.

"It's amazing what has gotten done in the past 12 hours."

The damage was so extensive because of the particular pipes impacted in this break.

"Where our waterline connects to the main line for the city, that's where the break is," Pilch added.

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The district decided by the end of the morning to close school again on Tuesday. They will make a similar call around the same time for the next day. At some point, they will have to consider moving students to another location if it takes too long to get the school ready for their return.

"Just taking it day by day to see what happens," said Carr. "Waiting for the school to notify us and let us know what's going on."

Shawn Chitnis reports for CBS4 News at 10 on weekends and CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. throughout the week. Email him story ideas at smchitnis@cbs.com and connect with him on Twitter or Facebook.

 

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