Fire blamed for water troubles in Perrysburg

12/6/2006

The water service interruption in Perrysburg the day before Thanksgiving was caused by an electrical transformer fire, according to a preliminary report from the engineering firm hired to review the incident.

According to ARCADIS, a Toledo-based engineering firm, the interruption began about 1 p.m. Nov. 22 after a Toledo Edison transformer caught fire near Elm Street and East Indiana Avenue, Perrysburg city officials said yesterday.

The fire caused a power interruption at the city's water maintenance facility that houses electronic controls for the water system. Those controls are protected by backup power sources, which failed to perform, officials said.

With the power loss, monitoring and control signals were disabled. The power was restored about 3:30 p.m., but the monitoring electronics did not reactivate, which caused stored water to drain from the system.

Less than two hours later, the system did not have enough water resources to maintain pressure, officials said.

City utility workers were able to balance the system and restore water service, and a boil advisory was issued in accordance with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

No structural, mechanical, or human error has been identified as a factor that caused the problem.

The city continues to investigate the loss of incoming water from a main trunk line into a pump station on the city's east side, officials said.