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Grand Haven Pipe Burst “Sounded Like Niagara Falls”

Posted at 9:32 PM, Mar 03, 2013
and last updated 2013-03-03 23:49:50-05

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — Nathan Pushaw and his friends don’t recognize Water Tank Hill near Mulligan’s Hollow anymore.

“Well, it’s completely different,” Pushaw laughs. “This was all just one big hill. And now there’s a big valley in it.”

It’s the aftermath of a city pipe that burst sometime Saturday night near the North Ottawa Water System’s filtration plant. Massive amounts of sand and dirt are piled up around the road leading to the tanks at the top of the hill. The Grand Haven Tribune reports that the pipe is one of three that runs to those tanks.

When full, they hold about two million gallons apiece.

No homes were damaged and everyone still has running water, but the Grand Haven YMCA and the nearby ski bowl were closed for the day.

Brenda Be heard the water from her nearby home.

“Like a raging rapid-type water,” she says. “To do that kind of damage – I didn’t see the water rushing, (but) the force of the water sounded like Niagara Falls.”

And left a big mess behind, especially in the area below the road.

“That used to be very green space, with a lot of trees and a lot of foliage,” Be says. “The power of the water kind of demolished it, kind of like a big bulldozer would have.”

The city’s next steps are to fix the 12-inch pipe and find a way to get rid of all of the sand. Neighbors says it’s stacked about 30 feet high.

(Photo courtesy of Joe Lukasik)