On Sunday evening the main water pipe on Adams Street broke in the city of Franklin leaving residents with no water. I spoke with Mayor Foulcard who said what caused this problem.
The city of Franklin Mayor Eugene Foulcard said on Monday morning the city was repairing its main water line. After the water was restored with very low pressure a boil water advisory was in effect and remains in effect.
This resulted in the closure of three of their schools as well as their courthouse. The main problem is the age of the main water line which is 115 years old.
Mayor Foulcard breaks down how much exactly this could cost the city.
“We had a study done back in 2018 and that cost estimate was about 36 million,” Foulcard said. “So it may be around 40 million to get the entire system. We can’t afford to do that so all we can do is apply for grants that are out there.”
Mayor Foulcard said they have just received $2.4 million to work on their water system.
Hazel Cole, co-owner of the bed and breakfast The Fairfax House on Main Street said having no water left her guests upset. One in particular canceled their stay two days early.
“We lost two of our paying customers who were in the rooms,” Cole said. “There was no water for them to take a shower they were a bit disappointed. They did get breakfast; we gave them bottles of water to brush their teeth but they were upset because they couldn’t get showers to go on their traveling.”
Cole said she improvised.
“We have two big gallons of water that we keep to fill up the coffee pot,” Cole said. “So we gave them to the guests to brush their teeth, wash their face, and whatever.”
She said she’s optimistic the situation will be resolved soon.
“Knowing that they're working on repairing it is all you can hope for.”
At around 12pm on Monday, the city said they had repaired the main 10-inch water line on Adams Street, advising pressure would be restored shortly.
